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Testing For Convergence in Output and in 'Well-Being' in Industrialized Countries

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There is now an extensive empirical literature relating to tests for various forms of convergence between the real per capita outputs of different countries. The evidence from these tests is mixed, and depends upon the type of data used, the countries in question, and the sample period in question. However, very little attention has been paid to the possibility of an associated convergence in "well-being" across countries. Indeed, it is interesting to posit the lack of any connection between convergence in output (income) and convergence in "well-being". In this paper we address this issue in the context of fourteen OECD economies, using various measures of "well-being", and different tests of convergence. The latter include a time-series test recently proposed by Nahar and Inder (2002), and a test based on fuzzy clustering proposed by Giles (2001). Our findings indicate that in general one should not expect convergence in output to be associated with convergence in "well-being".

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  • David E.A. Giles & Hui Feng, 2003. "Testing For Convergence in Output and in 'Well-Being' in Industrialized Countries," Econometrics Working Papers 0302, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    • Handle: RePEc:vic:vicewp:0302
    Note: ISSN 1485-6441
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    Cited by:

    1. Chad Stroomer & David E.A. Giles, 2003. "Income Convergence and trade Openness: Fuzzy Clustering and Time Series Evidence," Econometrics Working Papers 0304, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    2. David E. A. Giles & Carl Mosk, 2003. "Ruminant Eructation and a Long-Run Environmental Kuznets' Curve for Enteric Methane in New Zealand: Conventional and Fuzzy Regression Analysis," Econometrics Working Papers 0306, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    3. David Giles & Chad Stroomer, 2006. "Does Trade Openness Affect the Speed of Output Convergence? Some Empirical Evidence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 883-903, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Convergence; well-being indicators; time-series analysis; fuzzy clustering;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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