Mankiw Romer and Weil (1992) made the Solovian set up widely-used to test the determinants of economic growth and the speed of convergence. Subsequently, in almost all convergence studies, an exogenously growing technology is assumed and this component is treated as part of the constant term. In...

The literature that tests for U-shaped relationships using panel data, such as those between pollution and income or inequality and growth, reports widely divergent (parametric and non-parametric) empirical findings. We explain why lack of identification lies at the root of these differences. To...

Total factor productivity of twenty OECD countries for a recent period (1971-2002) is explained using six different models based on the established literature. Traditionally, entrepreneurship is not dealt with in these models. In the present paper it is shown that – when this variable is added...

This study surveys the development of the East German labor market after the unification of Germany. We explain that in the last decade, East Germans were faced with very high levels of joblessness that considering labor market exits and active labor market policy, are only partly reported as...

The topic of convergence is at the heart of a wide-ranging debate in the growth literature. Empirical studies of convergence differ widely in their theoretical backgrounds, empirical specifications and in their treatment of cross-sectional heterogeneity. Despite these differences, a rate of...

We set up an endogenous growth model in which the efficiency of both capital and fossil energy can be improved, whereas the efficiency of one alternative energy source is limited. With capital and energy as complements, there exist two steady states: one stagnant where energy is fully derived...

This work studies the role of gender on economic convergence in a standard convergence model expanded by gender shares of labor force. The theoretical part of the paper shows the positive role of gender on economic growth. Next, the paper presents 5-year span panel data tests of the contribution...

This paper empirically examines the dynamic causal relationships between electricity consumption and economic growth for five different panels (namely high income, upper middle income, lower middle income, low income based on World Bank income classification and global) using time series data...

Despite the importance attributed to the effects of diversity on the stability and prosperity of nations, the origins of the uneven distribution of ethnic and cultural fragmentation across countries have been underexplored. Building on the role of deeply-rooted biogeographical forces in...

Despite the importance attributed to the effects of diversity on the stability and prosperity of nations, the origins of the uneven distribution of ethnic and cultural fragmentation across countries have been underexplored. Building on the role of deeply-rooted biogeographical forces in...