This paper provides empirical evidence that there is no absolute convergence between the GDP per capita of the developing countries since 1950. Relying upon recent econometric methodologies (nonstationary long-memory models, wavelet models and time-varying factor representation models), we show...

First-class universities play an extremely important role in cultivating high-quality talents and technological innovation, serving as a significant indicator of a country's level of higher education development, developmental strength, and potential. However, there is little literature studying...

Data quality in the Penn World Tables varies systematically across countries that have different growth rates and at different stages of economic development, thus introducing measurement error correlated with variables of economic interest. We explore the seriousness of this problem with three...

The convergence/divergence debate and plausible explanations to the process of catching-up remain highly controversial research areas in growth economics. Recently, these issues have been the subject of questionable predictions with regard future prospect for backward countries, raising concerns...

Wealth inequalities both within and between nations has reached an extreme point and is continuing to increase (Collier P. The bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it. Oxford University Press, New York, 2007; Henneberg S, The wealth gaps. Farmington Hills:...