IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-01881912.html

GDP per Capita among African Countries over the Period 1950-2008: Highlights of Convergence Clubs

Author

Listed:
  • Serge Rey

    (CATT - Centre d'Analyse Théorique et de Traitement des données économiques - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour)

  • Florent Deisting

    (CATT - Centre d'Analyse Théorique et de Traitement des données économiques - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour)

Abstract

Using intradistribution dynamics and panel unit root tests, this study considers the economic convergence processes of 53 African countries during the period 1950–2008. The stochastic evidence reveals no global convergence among African countries but provides indications of convergence clubs. The poorest countries remained relatively poor, stuck in a poverty trap, whereas countries with the best initial conditions converged. The analysis of structural characteristics reveals that the significant determinants of the constitution of convergence clubs among African countries are openness, foreign direct investment inflows, and the level of development. In a few cases, tests also highlight the production structure and access to the sea as determinants.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Serge Rey & Florent Deisting, 2012. "GDP per Capita among African Countries over the Period 1950-2008: Highlights of Convergence Clubs," Post-Print hal-01881912, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01881912
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-pau.hal.science/hal-01881912v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://univ-pau.hal.science/hal-01881912v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bartkowska, Monika & Riedl, Aleksandra, 2012. "Regional convergence clubs in Europe: Identification and conditioning factors," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 22-31.
    2. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    3. Bernard, Andrew B. & Durlauf, Steven N., 1996. "Interpreting tests of the convergence hypothesis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1-2), pages 161-173.
    4. Galor, Oded, 1996. "Convergence? Inferences from Theoretical Models," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1056-1069, July.
    5. David E. Bloom & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1998. "Geography, Demography, and Economic Growth in Africa," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(2), pages 207-296.
    6. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1991. "Convergence across States and Regions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 107-182.
    7. William Easterly, 2006. "Reliving the 1950s: the big push, poverty traps, and takeoffs in economic development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 289-318, December.
    8. Bertocchi, Graziella & Canova, Fabio, 2002. "Did colonization matter for growth?: An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1851-1871, December.
    9. Amélie Charles & Olivier Darne & Jean-François Hoarau, 2012. "Convergence of real per capita GDP within COMESA countries: A panel unit root evidence," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(1), pages 53-71, August.
    10. Cunado, J. & Perez de Gracia, F., 2006. "Real convergence in Africa in the second-half of the 20th century," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 153-167.
    11. Costas Azariadis & Allan Drazen, 1990. "Threshold Externalities in Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 501-526.
    12. Roberto Basile, 2010. "Intra-distribution dynamics of regional per-capita income in Europe: evidence from alternative conditional density estimators," Statistica, Department of Statistics, University of Bologna, vol. 70(1), pages 3-22.
    13. John Luke Gallup & Jeffrey D. Sachs & Andrew D. Mellinger, 1998. "Geography and Economic Development," NBER Working Papers 6849, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. repec:aer:wpaper:200 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Olivier Peron & Serge Rey, 2012. "Trade and convergence of per capita income in the Indian Ocean Zone, 1950–2008," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(3), pages 657-683, December.
    16. Suzanne McCoskey, 2002. "Convergence in Sub-Saharan Africa: a nonstationary panel data approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(7), pages 819-829.
    17. Basil Jones, 2002. "Economic Integration and Convergence of Per Capita Income in West Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 18-47.
    18. REY, Serge, 2005. "Convergence réelle et convergence nominale dans les Pays de la région MENA [Real and nominal convergence amongst MENA countries]," MPRA Paper 30206, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Valérie Mignon & Christophe Hurlin, 2005. "Une synthèse des tests de racine unitaire sur données de panel," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 169(3), pages 253-294.
    20. Mauro Costantini & Claudio Lupi, 2005. "Stochastic convergence among European economies," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(38), pages 1-17.
    21. Evans, Paul & Karras, Georgios, 1996. "Convergence revisited," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 249-265, April.
    22. Fabrizio Carmignani, 2006. "The Road to Regional Integration in Africa: Macroeconomic Convergence and Performance in COMESA," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 15(2), pages 212-250, June.
    23. Carmignani, Fabrizio, 2007. "A note on income converge effects in regional integration agreements," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 361-366, March.
    24. Paul Collier & Jan Willem Gunning, 1999. "Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 3-22, Summer.
    25. Christopher J. S. Gentle, 1996. "Europe in 2010," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: After Liberalisation, chapter 7, pages 121-132, Palgrave Macmillan.
    26. Block, Steven A., 2001. "Does Africa grow differently?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 443-467, August.
    27. Paap, Richard & Franses, Philip Hans & van Dijk, Dick, 2005. "Does Africa grow slower than Asia, Latin America and the Middle East? Evidence from a new data-based classification method," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 553-570, August.
    28. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:3:y:2005:i:38:p:1-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gil-Alana, Luis A. & Mudida, Robert & Zerbo, Eleazar, 2021. "GDP per capita IN SUB-SAHARAN Africa: A time series approach using long memory," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 175-190.
    2. Dukhabandhu Sahoo & Diptimayee Mishra & Auro Kumar Sahoo & Phendulwa Zikhona Makunga & Jayanti Behera, 2020. "Regional and subregional analyses of macroeconomic policy strategies for growth and equality in Southern Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-176, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Serge Rey & Florent Deisting, 2012. "GDP per Capita among African Countries over the Period 1950-2008: Highlights of Convergence Clubs," Post-Print hal-01885301, HAL.
    2. Amélie Charles & Olivier Darne & Jean-François Hoarau, 2012. "Convergence of real per capita GDP within COMESA countries: A panel unit root evidence," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(1), pages 53-71, August.
    3. Amélie Charles & Olivier Darné & Jean-François Hoarau, 2009. "Does the real GDP per capita convergence hold in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa?," Working Papers hal-00422522, HAL.
    4. Cunado, J. & Perez de Gracia, F., 2006. "Real convergence in Africa in the second-half of the 20th century," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 153-167.
    5. Chris Papageorgiou & Winford H. Masanjala, 2006. "Initial Conditions, European Colonialism and Africa's Growth," Departmental Working Papers 2006-01, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    6. Olivier Parent & Abdallah Zouache, 2009. "Geographical Features vs. Institutional Factors: New Perspectives on The Growth of Africa and Middle-East," Working Papers 490, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2009.
    7. Cem Ertur & Julie Le Gallo & Catherine Baumont, 2006. "The European Regional Convergence Process, 1980-1995: Do Spatial Regimes and Spatial Dependence Matter?," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 29(1), pages 3-34, January.
    8. Cavallaro, Eleonora & Villani, Ilaria, 2021. "Real income convergence and the patterns of financial integration in the EU," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    9. Mahmud, Hassan, 2008. "Why has Growth slowed in Sub-Saharan Africa: A System GMM-IV Approach," MPRA Paper 25910, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Cavallaro, Eleonora & Villani, Ilaria, 2022. "Beyond financial deepening: Rethinking the finance-growth relationship in an uneven world," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    11. Paap, Richard & Franses, Philip Hans & van Dijk, Dick, 2005. "Does Africa grow slower than Asia, Latin America and the Middle East? Evidence from a new data-based classification method," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 553-570, August.
    12. Cutrini, Eleonora & Mendez, Carlos, 2023. "Convergence clubs and spatial structural change in the European Union," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 167-181.
    13. Di Vaio, Gianfranco & Enflo, Kerstin, 2011. "Did globalization drive convergence? Identifying cross-country growth regimes in the long run," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 832-844, August.
    14. Diego Aboal & Bibiana Lanzilotta & Martin Pereyra & Maria Paz Queralt�, 2020. "Regional Economic Development and Convergence Clubs in Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo 17902, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).
    15. Marco Alfo & Giovanni Trovato & Robert J. Waldmann, 2008. "Testing for country heterogeneity in growth models using a finite mixture approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(4), pages 487-514.
    16. Ben Fine, 1998. "Endogenous Growth Theory: A Critical Assessment," Working Papers 80, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    17. EZZAHIDI, Elhadj & El Alaoui, Aicha, 2015. "Determinants of the recent growth surge in Africa: what changed since mid-1990s?," MPRA Paper 67792, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Olivier Peron & Serge Rey, 2012. "Trade and convergence of per capita income in the Indian Ocean Zone, 1950–2008," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(3), pages 657-683, December.
    19. Durlauf,S.N., 2003. "The convergence hypothesis after 10 years," Working papers 6, Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems.
    20. Castillo-Manzano, José I. & Castro-Nuño, Mercedes & Pedregal, Diego J., 2014. "The trend towards convergence in road accident fatality rates in Europe: The contributions of non-economic variables," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 229-240.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01881912. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.