6533b7d4fe1ef96bd12632a9

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Neoclassical Convergence Versus Technological Catch-Up : A Contribution for Reaching a Consensus.

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http://www.businessperspectives.org/files/ppm/PPM_EN_2004_03pp15_42.pdf; International audience; New macro empirical evidence is provided to assess the relative importance of object andidea gaps in explaining the world income distribution dynamics over a benchmark period of 1960-1985. Results are then extended through 1995. Formal statistical hypothesis tests allow us to discriminatebetween two competing growth models: (i) the standard neoclassical growth model similarto that employed by Mankiw, Romer, and Weil (1992), and (ii) an endogenous growth modelclosely related to the Nelson and Phelps' approach (1966) that emphasizes the importance of technologytransfer in addition to factor accumulation as an opportunity to catch up. First, the lattercan hardly be rejected and reveals itself to be either a reliable alternative or a complementarymodel, depending on the sample under study. Second, taking into consideration the impact of thetechnological catch-up phenomenon allows us to better capture and locally fit the pattern of incomedistribution dynamics that took place over the period of 1960-1995.