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Vive la différence: Disaggregation of the productivity convergence process*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2010

S. N. Broadberry
S. N. Broadberry
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Abstract

This paper examines the convergence process at a disaggregated level in a historical context. A three-way disaggregation of the national accounts by output, income and expenditure reveals a wealth of diversity, bom over time and across countries, i.e. history and geography matter. Countries can specialise according to comparative advantage, and convergence at the aggregate level can occur through changes in structure as well as through convergence at the micro level. Similarly, changes in factor proportions may lead to convergence of aggregate incomes without requiring convergence of all factor prices at the micro level. Also, differences in preferences may persist, so that individual components of expenditure do not need to converge in line with aggregate expenditure. Convergence at the aggregate level, dren, does not necessarily lead to uniformity. Vive la différence!

Resumen

Este trabajo examina el proceso de convergencia en perspectiva histórica a nivel desagregado. Tomando en consideración la producción, la renta y el gasto este trabajo muestra una gran diversidad geográfica y temporal. Cada país se especializó según su ventaja comparativa y la convergencia se produjo tanto a través de cambios en su estructura productiva, como a niveles microeconómicos. Asimismo, variaciones en la proporción de las facturas condujo a una mejor convergencia de la renta sin necesidad de una mayor aproximación de los precios de los factores. El trabajo demuestra también que persistieron importantes diferencias en las preferencias de los consumidores. Así pues, el proceso de convergencia a nivel agregado no condujo necesariamente a la uniformidad de las economías. ¡Vive la differénce!

Type
Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , December 1997 , pp. 575 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 1997

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