Theoretical models of growth reveal that either exogenous or endogenous, technology is the main driving force behind the long-run economic growth. Furthermore, in the endogenous growth framework, diffusion of technology is the basic mechanism of per capita income convergence among countries....

According to the traditional theory of international trade, a gradual opening of trade teamed with migration would make initially asymmetric regions more symmetric. In stark contrast, the new economic geography models show that factor mobility and opening may eventually exaggerates initial...