Latin American Journal of Economic Development

Beta, Sigma and Distributional Convergence in Human Development? Evidence from the Metropolitan Regions of Bolivia

Tuesday, Nov 6, 2018 by Carlos Mendez Latin American Journal of Economic Development

Almost half of the population of Bolivia currently lives in the metropolitan regions of La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba. Motivated by the potential for growth and development of these regions, this article documents the evolution of their human development differences over the 1992-2013 period. In particular, using the United Nations' human development index at the municipal level, this paper evaluates the process of regional convergence through the lens of three frameworks: beta, sigma, and distributional convergence.

The World Productivity Distribution: Convergence and Divergence Patterns in the Postwar Era

Sunday, Nov 1, 2015 by Carlos Mendez Latin American Journal of Economic Development

The post-World War II period has seen substantial changes in labor productivity around the world. Motivated by these changes, this article documents four stylized facts about the world productivity distribution. First, there is a large and increasing disparity between its tails. Second, this disparity rapidly increased in the 1980s, slowed down in the next decade, and stabilized in the mid-2000s. Third, over time, there has been substantial forward and backward mobility of countries and regions.