DOES EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION LEAD TO INCOME CONVERGENCE? EVIDENCE FROM CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS

Abstract

In this study, we examine the role of export diversification in the convergence of per capita income (output). By applying the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator to a panel dataset consisting of 95 countries, we find evidence of both absolute and conditional divergence for the full sample and the subsamples based on income and regions. Thus, our findings suggest that, although high export diversification boosts the per capita income (output), it does not significantly reduce per capita income (output) gap between rich and poor countries.