An examination of global income convergence for 1960-1990

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the question of whatever poor countries have been catching up with rich countries over the period 1960-1990. Our data set, which is based mainly on the Penn World Tables, consists of 161 countries and territories. I find that international inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient and the Theil entropy index, did not fall during this period. That is, the evidence does not support the convergence hypothesis, according to which the per capita income levels of poor countries tend to coverage towards those of rich countries over time