Convergence since the Second World War: Blind Alleys and Misplaced Expectations

Abstract

The gap in income between the richest and the poorest countries is very large and increasing. But as we probe deeper the picture becomes less clear regarding the facts and more so the conceptual basis of the analysis. The growing gap hides substantial progress in most welfare indicators for most of the world's population. The theory beyond the expectations of convergence seems inadequate, especially for the case of Sub-Saharan Africa.