Beyond Income : Convergence in Public Services, Colombia 1938-2005

One of the most heated debates in development theory in recent decades concerns the causes and trends of income disparities, both between countries and between the different regions that make up national economies. The crucial question that set off this controversy is whether, in the long run, the gaps in levels of per capita income all the national and international levels tend to widen or diminish.More recently, reflections about convergence in standards of living have been added to the debate over convergence in incomes. In this case, the idea is to establish whether or not the levels of quality of life (education, health, life expectancy) tend to converge. Once again, the question in valid at both the national and international levels.Based on the understanding that household public services (water, sanitation, and energy) constitute a basic dimension of the quality of life, the purpose of this study to examine – for the first time in Colombia – the evolution of coverage for these services, using the analytical perspective of convergence.The findings show that during the XX century, there was a process of convergence in the coverage of public utilities in the country, specially successful in the case of drinkable water and electric energy