This paper examines whether the recent conclusion that foreign direct investment (FDI) has a positive effect on institutions in developing countries depends on a country having reached a certain threshold level of institutional quality. The relevant literature has recently coalesced around the...

We define a catch-up index, distinguish it from β-convergence, show β-convergence measures relative convergence (decrease in income ratio) not absolute (decrease in income gap) and permits poorer countries diverging absolutely, derive an equation for years for a country's income to equal the...

The relevant literature finds the main advantages of financial globalization to be indirect. In the last two decades it has also been realized that traditional Solow factors are “proximate” causes of growth: they depend on “fundamentals” in which institutions play a primary role. We...