It's too soon for optimism about convergence

a column by Paul Johnson and Chris Papageorgiou for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

The recent wave of growth in several developing economies has led to many analysts to claim that poorer countries are catching up with advanced economies.

This column argues that, with the exception of a few countries in Asia which exhibited transformational growth, most of the economic achievements in developing economies have been the result of removing inefficiencies which are merely one-off level effects. While these effects are not unimportant and are necessary in the process of development, they do not imply ongoing economic growth.

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