Convergence Equations and Income Dynamics: The Sources of OECD Convergence, 1970-1995

This paper illustrates how convergence equations can be used to analyze the dynamics of the income distribution, thus overcoming some of the limitations of this methodology noted by Quah. Using panel data for a sample of OECD countries, we estimates a growth equation which relates the growth rate of income per capita to the rates of accumulation of physical, human and technological capital, the share of government expenditures in GDP and the behaviour of the labour market, while allowing for the main convergence mechanisms identified in the literature.