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A Reexamination of Output Convergence in the U.S. States: Toward Which Level(s) are they Converging?
Author(s) -
Choi ChiYoung
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1467-9787
pISSN - 0022-4146
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-4146.2004.00355.x
Subject(s) - convergence (economics) , gdp deflator , per capita , economics , panel data , econometrics , product (mathematics) , state (computer science) , economic geography , macroeconomics , mathematics , demography , real gross domestic product , population , geometry , algorithm , sociology
. This paper reexamines the issue of output convergence among the 48 states in the continental United States. Implementing multiple panel data techniques to state per capita output during the period 1929–2001 reveals little evidence of stochastic convergence in all 48 states, but some evidence among collections of states at the regional level. This observation may suggest that output convergence in the United States has proceeded among geographically neighboring states rather than among distant states, notwithstanding the nearly complete integration of product and factor markets. Our findings appear to be robust to a subsample analysis, although the intensity of convergence varies with the choice of output measure and deflator. Industrial structures and geographic proximity are considered as potential explanations for the regional pattern of output growth dynamics.