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In the existing literature on foreign direct investment, it is often assumed that multinational corporations and their direct investments reduce institutional differences among economies. Building upon this assumption, those influenced by management studies and mainstream economics see multinational corporations as an agent that upgrades local business conventions to global standards. Geographers do not usually accept this convergence theory and claim differences among host economies prevents convergence in business practices. The difference between these groups of scholars is that the non-convergence camp acknowledges the resilience of local business practices while the convergence camp does not. The papers comprising this special issue question this shared assumption of foreign direct investment as a cause of convergence. As outlined in this introductory paper, and explored in detail in the following papers, we pay attention to the simple fact that the foreign direct investment is from a company or individual whose business practices are inherently influenced by their experiences of business in the nation or region of origin, and these experiences indelibly influence, to varying degrees, their local operations in investment destination. Once we accept such an obvious fact, recent debates on variety of capitalism and related literatures on the developmental state, welfare regime and other concepts all become relevant to understanding of the local operation of foreign-owned businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent economic convergence studies show that cross-country income inequalities have declined since the 1990s. However, this study finds that this episode of income convergence is unsustainable in the long run because countries' capacity to earn income diverges. Specifically, the paper analyses the convergence of per-capita Inclusive Wealth, which comprises all capital assets that contribute to the production of goods and services and the well-being of its society. Utilizing a diverse array of techniques to estimate convergence in a sample of 140 countries between 1990 and 2010, the paper demonstrates the simultaneity of unconditional convergence of GDP and unconditional divergence of Inclusive Wealth. Natural-resource-rich countries that lack human capital, in particular, appear unable to match the global per capita Inclusive Wealth growth rate. A trend emerges towards a bimodal Inclusive Wealth distribution with a substantial low-wealth peak. Thus, although swift income convergence appears promising for developing nations, I caution against optimism. When considering a more appropriate measure of future well-being, such as Inclusive Wealth, the economic outlook for many countries is bleaker than recent studies suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Balkan countries undergoing the transition must advance their economies to be more competitive. The aim of this paper is to analyse economic growth with a primary focus on the analysis of economic convergence in the Balkan region in the period of 1997-2020. The research analyses the following Balkan economies: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. This study applies Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic growth and is based on the neoclassical economic growth model: the Solow's convergence concept. The results show that the Balkan countries experienced economic convergence with a speed of 1.82% in the cross-sectional model and 7.87% in the panel data model. It means that the initially less developed economies noted higher economic growth than those richer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a methodology for relating traded products to aggregate country indicators. • We identify imported and exported products that correlate with growth and income per capita. • Catching-up economies characterized by frugality in consumer demand and the prominence of mass-production industries. • Mature economies distinguished by the importance of consumer demand and the export of knowledge-intensive goods. Using a novel methodology to relate traded products to aggregate country indicators, this paper identifies imported and exported goods that correlate with growth and income per capita, and based upon that, determines the productive and demand structure of mature and catching-up economies. The methodology in question first uses Principal Component Analysis on the products that countries specialize in importing and exporting, to reduce the number of variables that will, later, be linearly related to income and growth using Canonical Correlation Analysis. It is shown that fast growing or catching-up economies are characterized by the export of mass-produced manufactured goods, and the import of capital and intermediates – but not consumer goods. Frugality in consumption demand and congruence between exports and imports explain the high growth rates of catching-up or transitioning economies. In contrast, high income and slow growth mature economies are characterized by the export of goods whose production requires advanced technological capabilities. Their demand structure is characterized by the prominence of consumption rather than means of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a novel distributed optimization scheme for the economic dispatch problem of distributed generators (DGs) connected via directed communication links. The optimization is carried out using incremental cost (IC) consensus under the constraint of supply–demand balance while considering the capacity and ramp rate limits of the DGs. The optimality analysis has been provided via a variant of the conventional Lyapunov function for an additional term, addressing both consensus of ICs and convergence of supply–demand mismatch on directed graphs. In contrast with the previous work, the proposed algorithm is not susceptible to initial conditions of DGs, which makes it more resilient to communication failure and delay despite working under directed communication topologies. Extra limitations of capacity and ramp rate limits of DGs are taken into account by the algorithm while avoiding any supply mismatch. The simulation tests are carried on an IEEE benchmark to verify the efficacy of the proposed technique. The results indicate that the proposed technique is superior to existing traditional and distributed methods in various performance aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will compare and contrast Visegrád and Southeast European mobility towards (and away from) the European Union (EU) ideal of cohesion, in the process investigating conflicting "core" and "peripheral" assertions of "Europeanness." Though the Visegrád states have exceeded economic expectations, they have to varying degrees stood in opposition to the values of the EU's self-professed "European identity," with Hungary and Poland in particular demonstrating increasing illiberalism. Meanwhile, in Southeast Europe, lacklustre economic performance has tended to contrast with increasingly liberal democratic rule and strong popular support for the EU "project." The EU's cohesion strategy has prioritized economic convergence and, ultimately, this has meant that budgetary considerations, and political rhetoric and scrutiny, have often favoured the rebellious but economically resurgent Visegrád states over the weaker economies of a more compliant Southeast Europe. The EU's integration strategy of constructing "identity hegemony" depends upon both economic and socio-political convergence. This paper questions the congruence of these focuses, given the discriminatory application of integration incentives and the persistence of Orientalism/Balkanism in West European rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Digitalization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated significantly across Europe, including in regions that are at the stage of catch-up development. However, as innovative technologies are intensively integrated into everyday life, the digital gap between the EU countries is increasing. The widening digital gap is becoming a serious threat to achieving the EU's sustainable development goals and building a sustainable European society. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article was to empirically substantiate the inclusiveness and convergence of the digital strategy in the EU countries. Methods: Using the method of fuzzy sets, the level of asymmetry in access to transactional (e-commerce), information (cloud computing), operational (artificial intelligence) technologies in the EU countries was assessed. The negative impact of the digital gap within the countries (the gap between small, medium, large companies) and the global digital gap (the gap between EU countries) on the competitiveness of countries was established, for which correlation analysis and the Granger causality test were used. Findings & value added: The findings of this study contribute to the literature of digital transformation and digital gap of European countries. The impact of the digital gap in transactional, information, operational technologies on the competitiveness of countries is differentiated depending on the level of digitalization of the country. Cluster groups of countries are determined by the convergence of digitalization and ways to ensure long-term competitiveness. The directions for reducing the digital gap in the EU countries are substantiated by changing the priorities of spending on innovation and increasing productivity, diversifying the digital technologies used. The empirical results obtained can serve as a basis for improving the effectiveness of the digitalization policy in the EU countries in accordance with individual convergence goals. The main added value of the paper is related to the presented research procedure, which can be used in analyses of digital technologies development also for other countries. The results provide valuable insights into evaluating the digital technologies in European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the convergence of economic growth and socioeconomic development in the Legal Amazon region. For this, the methodology of Convergence Means was used. To measure economic growth, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the Gross Value Added (VAB) per capita referring to the three sectors of the economy were used as variables. Regarding socioeconomic development, the Firjan Index of Municipal Development (IFDM) was used as variables for the dimensions: General, Health, Employment and Income and Education. The results showed that the variables related to economic growth, presented themselves as convergent and showed a great growth in the period. In relation to variables related to socioeconomic development, the level of convergence was significant, with exception of the variable employment and income, which proved to be divergent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Manufacturing productivity in CEE has converged driven by large investments and the catch–up effect. • The Visegrad group converged by investing hugely, mainly in advanced industries. • Other, CEE countries have converged largely due to catch–up effect. • Lately, improving institutions have been an important driver of convergence in CEE. • Low investment and deteriorating institutions hindered convergence in the southern EU countries. This paper shows that CEE countries converge in manufacturing productivity to more developed EU countries, while southern EU countries have failed to converge. Large investments in CEE manufacturing sectors, particularly in the Visegrad group, and the related catch–up effect are the main convergence drivers. We also found that the relative importance of growth drivers varies across the CEE countries and over the time, revealing some regularity and explaining the recent slowdown in convergence pace. In contrast, low manufacturing investments in Portugal, Greece, and Spain, and weak institutions in Italy and Greece caused their lagging behind in productivity growth. The findings stem from robustly estimated growth regressions for a panel of EU countries over the period 1995–2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive review of academic writings on the convergence of religions (COR) in Nigeria shows that many online academic papers and related conversations gave more attention to its negative implications. Agreeably, Nigeria is the hotbed of religious crises in Africa. However, with the benefits of hindsight, filling the gap of insufficient capture of the positive impact of COR is considered in this exercise with three questions in view: (1) Where do religions meet? (2) Why do religions meet? (3) What are the positive implications of their convergence in Nigeria? Answers were adequately captured with examples, scenarios, case studies, historical evidence, and concomitant academic literature. Overall, this exercise projected three arguments. Firstly, it posited that commitment to religion is not at the heart of COR in Nigeria, rather, COR is premised on personal or group interests. Secondly, it argued that positive reflections on the COR can promote inter-religious tolerance, peace, and unity. Thirdly, it proposed that the COR has far-reaching positive implications socially, politically, and economically. Lastly, it made brief recommendations for improved co-existence and nation-building. Contribution: This article contributes to inter-religious dialogue in Africa as it focuses on the social, political and economic value of religion in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyze the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector in Romania with other EU member states taking into consideration the competitiveness indicators. In order to be able to establish a causal link between the factors of competitiveness in determining the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector, certain indicators of competitiveness were considered such as the family income of the holding per annul work unit (AWU) and the net added value per unit of annual work. In addition, other indicators were calculated, such as gross value added/AWU and the total value of production. These indicators were calculated based on FADN data, covering the period 2013-2018 including for several other member states of the European Union in order to make comparisons with Romania. The results show a low level of competitiveness compared to all countries analyzed, which indicates that the horticultural sector in Romania is not yet close to achieving the economic convergence with the main EU horticultural sectors of some countries which represent Romania's competitors in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, farmland markets have risen sharply due to their attractiveness as safe investment and savings allocation instruments. This growth has occurred globally at different rates due to the uneven expected returns, and potential land uses in different regions. This paper provides evidence of the convergence of Italian farmland markets between 1990 and 2019 by using data on average land prices with a geographically detailed resolution that considers both administrative and altitude aspects of territories. The analysis combines traditional economic convergence approaches with spatial data exploration techniques. The results are consistent and show that territorial disparities in Italian farmland markets tend to increase over the study period. This proves that divergence patterns reflect the well-established North-South dualism and disparities in socio-economic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper analyzes the pattern of international capital flows, accounting for the convergence on economic growth. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs an empirical analysis combined with a theoretical model. The evidence is based on a cross-section regression over a sample of 172 economies. And the model is an open multi-country overlapping generation (OLG) economy. Findings: The empirical evidence records that the pattern of international capital flows in the club of convergence can diverge from the pattern in the club of unconvergence. A higher productivity growth rate is associated with more net capital inflows in the club of convergence but less net capital inflows in the club of unconvergence. The theory shows that proximity to world technology frontier can explain the divergence of capital flows. Research limitations/implications: The result can account for controversies between theories on the cross-border capital flows: allocation puzzle, up-hill capital flows and neoclassical growth model. Originality/value: The paper combines both the empirical analysis with the theoretical model construction to account for the role of convergence of economic growth on determining the pattern of international capital flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing economic integration and global synchronization can be key for countries aiming to catch up in GDP per capita terms. Little attention has hitherto been placed in synchronization as determinant of convergence. In this paper we estimate the effect of economic globalization and synchronization on income convergence for a sample of 89 developed and developing countries in the period 1970–2015. We use a dynamic factor model and panel data techniques to undertake the objectives of the paper. We show that synchronized countries (those correlated with the factor) exhibit a higher response on GDP per capita growth with variations on the global business cycle. This implies that synchronization improves growth for that group in global expansionary phases, but also implies risks during global recessions. On the contrary, the effect on growth of an economic globalization index is less relevant for synchronized countries than for asynchronized countries. The latter result implies that asynchronized countries can benefit more increasing their levels of economic globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The socialist economic calculation debate can work as a platform of communication between different traditions in economics to explore the dichotomy of technology-humans. Based on the metalanguage of the economic calculation as first systematized by Don Lavoie, I develop a triangular and complementary relationship between the mainstream neoclassical model, the Austrian school of economics and the Marxist Political Economy to minimize misunderstandings due to poor communication and to look for agreements that are usually disregarded. This paper draws attention to an important convergence between the antagonistic sides in the socialist economic calculation debate regarding the relationship between humans and technology and that the issue of control must be explicitly taken into account if any scientific advancement is to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Copenhagen criteria for EU accession are the essential preconditions that candidate countries must satisfy to be deemed eligible for membership. In line with the strand of the literature that focuses on candidate countries' convergence with the EU, the paper examines whether converge with the EU in terms of the Copenhagen political criteria can be established empirically for candidate and potential-candidate countries. Currently, the candidate country status is granted to Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Bosnia–Herzegovina and Kosovo are recognized by the EU as potential candidate countries. In addition to the candidate and potential candidate countries, we include in the convergence tests the six countries of the Eastern Partnership EU policy: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. Using unit root tests, convergence is examined in terms of two indices drawn from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project: the Liberal democracy and the Civil liberties indices. The findings reported herein, are not uniform and on the whole offer only scant evidence in favour of the convergence hypothesis. For some of the candidate and potential candidate countries convergence is established, while for others the results do not point to such a process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether the Triangular Development Cooperation (TDC) in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is foreseeable or not between the EU and Turkey. In doing so, we first built a new and original framework based upon five independent variables as follows: (1) foreign policy interests and strategic areas in the recipient country; (2) Convergence of development policy modalities and practices; (3) level of interdependence between DAC-donor and southern provider; (4) friendly relations and share of norms and values between the development cooperation providers and (5) African leaders' perception about the added value of the TDC. Second, we tested these five variables in our case studies to determine the TDC's likelihood level between the EU and Turkey in the SSA by using three indicators as follows: positive, negative or partially positive. In this vein, it first profiles Turkey's and the EU's position as development aid providers in the SSA to highlight their specificities. Then, it examines the TDC's main features, strengths and weaknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reconstruction of the economic history of Brazil since independence from Portugal (1822) may lead to a new understanding of its economic growth. The deep-rooted idea that Brazil could have done better means there is a need to delve into each phase of its development. In this paper, we provide a very long-run perspective (1822-2019) of Brazil's economic growth and process of real convergence. On the one hand, this review indicates that structural changes observed in the middle of the 20th century were crucial in promoting the country's growth and real convergence with technologically advanced countries. On the other hand, poor institutional conditions and deficient human capital formation have emerged since colonial times as critical factors underlying Brazil's inability to establish robust and sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the economic convergence that operate between five selected Asian countries (namely Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia). In particular, it seeks to investigate how increased economic integration has impacted the inter-country income levels among the five founding members of ASEAN. Design/methodology/approach: A new Machine Learning (ML) approach is applied along with a panel data analysis (GMM), and the application of KOF Globalization Index. Findings: The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) results highlight that the endogenous growth theory seems to be supported for the selected Asian countries, indicating evidence of diverging forces resulting from unequal growth and polarization dynamics. Overcoming the technical issues raised by the econometric approach, the new ML algorithm brings contrasted but interesting results. Using the KOF Globalization Index, the authors confirm how the last phase of globalization set the conditions for an economic convergence among sample members. Originality/value: Using the KOF Globalization Index, the authors confirm how the last phase of globalization set the conditions for an economic convergence among sample members. As a matter of fact, the new LSTM algorithm has provided consistent evidence supporting the existence of converging forces. In fact, the results highlighted the effectiveness of the experiments and the algorithm we chose. The high predictability of the authors' model and the absence of self-alignment in the values showed a convergence be-tween the economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of European Union (EU) was driven by the motivation to create a European Common Market that encourages free trade. As a result of Maastricht treaty of 1993, EU saw the biggest enlargement to date, from initial six founding members to now 28‐member countries comprising the union. The lower income countries have joined the EU with the hope to bridge the income gap between them and the higher income countries of the union. It has been observed in many studies that intra‐EU income convergence has happened. This article further confirms this finding. For income convergence to be sustainable, the lower income countries must also experience convergence in economic structures. Therefore, in this paper we try to assess how intra‐EU convergence in incomes is linked to intra‐EU convergence in economic structures. We observed income convergence in the EU has been mainly due to convergence in income shares of the industrial and services sector. The main contribution of this article is to examine the role of trade in income convergence via its impact on structural transformation of the EU. Using the augmented Chenery‐Syrquin model in a panel data framework, we have found that trade openness determines the sectoral shares of industry and services in income across the countries. We have also demonstrated that both the higher and lower income countries within the EU have gained in the share of industrial sector due to trade, although the gain is lesser for the lower income countries as compared to the gain in share of industries of the high‐income countries in the EU. However, structural convergence has not been fully achieved because the lower income countries of the EU are yet to gain from trade in terms of enhancing their income shares of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the meta-frontier Data Envelopment Analysis and the main concepts of convergence from the economic growth literature (β-convergence and σ-convergence) to analyze integration and convergence both in efficiency and in technology gap of European Union (EU) insurance markets. We evaluate 10 EU life insurance markets over the 17-year-period 1998–2014. Results show convergence in cost/revenue efficiency among major EU life insurance markets during the sample period. These findings indicate that the least efficient countries in 1998 have shown a higher improvement in cost/revenue efficiency than the most efficient countries in the same year as well as that the dispersion of the mean efficiency scores among EU life insurance markets decreased over the sample period. We also find convergence in cost/revenue technology gap among these markets, suggesting that they become more technologically homogeneous during the sample period. However, results show that the global financial crisis has led to a slowdown in the progress of integration and convergence in efficiency and technology gap of EU life insurance markets in terms of cost efficiency but not in terms of revenue efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of the spatial evolution of global household energy and its determinants is needed to achieve global access to clean cooking energy before 2030. Based on a novel global household energy database, we adopt the log t regression test to identify the global trend and find the potential convergent clubs. Besides, we utilize Random Forest method and Ordered Probit model to investigate the drivers affecting the club convergence. As a result: (1) The global sample exhibits divergence from 2000 to 2020; (2) The 191 countries and regions can be classified into 3 convergent clubs, characterized by significant disparities in both the mean and growth rate of their access to clean energy; (3) Per capita GDP, urbanization level, infrastructure development, and educational attainment are identified as the most important factors influencing the club convergence; (4) Countries with a higher level of socio-economic development generally have a higher proportion of residents using clean fuels, with gas energy playing a pivotal role in driving this transformation. This paper adds more evidence to understand the disparity of global household cooking energy use, we propose that economic and infrastructure development, education attainment, and international cooperation are favorable. • Convergence analysis of country-level clean cooking is conducted. • 191 countries are classified into 3 convergent clubs by access to clean cooking. • Drivers that affect the formation of club convergence are investigated. • Policy suggestions to reduce the gap of SDG 7 are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the recent evolution of social assistance in the developing world, looking at its complex typological configuration, which has interlinked with, and partly reflects the complex demographic and epidemiological transitions and rapid urbanization and economic convergence that many developing countries have exhibited over the past decades. The paper underscores the principles of the poverty focus of social assistance and presents an overview of existence evidence of first‐ and second‐order effects of social assistance, particularly in the domains of poverty, education, health, and labor markets. Moreover, the paper highlights the knowledge gaps with regard to the longer term and gender‐specific welfare effects of social assistance, and the redistributive effects, and the incentives and distortion mechanisms that transfer programs can generate in the labor and insurance markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmonisation and legal convergence are core tasks of the EU. This paper explores the question about the determinants for national convergence of EU law, specifically applied to the ever-growing body of European consumer sales law. The measurement of national convergence is based on a unique coding of five directives in seven Member States. Using the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method, the paper finds that differences in national convergence can partly be explained by favourable features of the corresponding directives; however, mainly, they are the result of a combination of domestic political factors and, to a lesser extent, the country characteristics. This has important policy implications, for instance, on the need to 'bring in politics' in the debate about convergence, harmonisation and consumer sales law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether several groups of European countries are on track for real "conditional" economic convergence in per capita income and the likely speed of convergence. The paper focusses also on the changes of the convergence processes over time. Design/methodology/approach: Unlike the simple "absolute convergence", it explores the concept of "conditional" or "club" convergence. Moreover, it adopts the approach of extending the univariate model to take into account the panel dimension over an extended time interval and endogeneity. Findings: A process of real economic convergence has characterised the period under investigation (1995–2016), but, in general, the size and significance of the parameter is greater for the wide European Union (EU) area (EU25 and above) rather than the Eurozone (EZ). However, the crises occurred after 2008 caused most of such lower convergence in the Euro area. Research limitations/implications: This paper gives an estimate of the speed/time needed to several groups of European countries (EZ, in particular) to achieve real economic convergence. Future research could further develop the "stochastic" convergence concept. Originality/value: This is an analysis of convergence in enlarging EU and EZ for an extended period (including the big crisis period and the subsequent recovery). It shows that EZ experienced a drop in the speed of real convergence after 2008 and converge at lower speed than the EU. As a consequence, a specific budget for EZ would be important to provide adjustment mechanisms after potentially large shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic inequality has increased in many EU countries in the past few decades. Yet efforts to assess regional disparities across the EU mostly concentrate on convergence in average per capita incomes, offering little analysis of how regional income is distributed. Using new data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) for 1989–2013, we test whether income inequality convergence has taken place among EU regions and assess which structural factors may affect the pace of this process. The analysis offers three findings. First, NUTS 2 regions are converging to a higher level of income inequality. Second, this process is significantly faster when regions share similar structural characteristics. Finally, there is evidence of a convergence-acceleration effect for regions receiving Cohesion Policy funds, suggesting therefore that these may be driving the convergence process. • The paper investigates the dynamics of within-country income inequality in the European Union regions during 1989–2013. • We test whether regions with higher inequality levels experienced larger reductions in income concentration. • The main finding indicates that NUTS2 regions are converging but to a higher level of income inequality. • The convergence process is significantly faster when regions share the same structural features, such as similar levels of quality of institutions. • Regions receiving Cohesion Policy funds may be driving the convergence process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the Internet is a determining factor in explaining economic growth and convergence across countries when it acts as a channel of information and knowledge diffusion. Literature has identified around 140 possible growth factors, therefore given the contradictory results obtained from previous empirical studies it is crucial we understand the actual role of the Internet. Using the conditional convergence theory and a Bayesian panel data model averaging method from a sample of 100 countries between 1994 and 2017, our results demonstrate that an increase in access to the Internet is a non-determinant factor in economic convergence, being its probability of inclusion in the true growth model conditioned by the regressors included in the estimates and the time span analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies in economic growth have focused on the convergence hypothesis for regions, territories and groups of countries. The main idea is that on the long run, the poorer regions would catch up to the richer in terms of Gross Domestic Product Per Capita. This paper analyses the economic convergence in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), not considered in studies related to the organization, which offers an expanded view on the matter. Utilizing an estimation and panel data analysis for the period 1970-2017, it indicates whether the gaps between countries belonging to the block have tended to be reduced or widened, and for this, an econometric model based on the literature is developed, with different equations, periods, variables and set of countries within the OPEC. The results mainly show convergence and the formation of convergence clubs between these economies, and a growth dynamic determined by human capital and physical capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examining the impact of HSRon housing prices in Chinese cities. • The Social Network Analysis approach is employed to measure the accessibility. • Considering the asymmetric effects among different regions and property types. • Providing evidence for a causal effect of HSR on housing prices. Applying the social network analysis (SNA) approach, this paper investigates the impact of high-speed rail (HSR) on urban housing prices from the perspective of network accessibility. Based on a sample of 285 cities in China over 2009–2017, we find a positive effect of HSR network accessibility on urban housing prices. An increase in HSR network accessibility (i.e., degree point or closeness centrality) by one standard deviation causes about a 10.3% increase in average housing prices. Evidence also suggests that this effect varies across regions and housing types. Our results are robust to different model specifications and alternative measures of HSR accessibility. The findings offer insights into the space–time economic laws with important policy implications regarding spatial disparities and regional economic convergence in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are significant regional differences in the development of China's insurance industry. An important question is that such regional differences are expanding or shrinking? Based on Barrow's economic growth convergence model, this paper uses the σ convergence model to analyze the differences in the development of China's insurance industry and its trends. It draws on the statistics data from 1990 to 2020. The empirical results show that the convergence of China's insurance development is not obvious before 2006, but it shows a significant convergence after 2006. And, there are some differences between the Eastern, the Central, and the Western. Furthermore, when considering the spatial correlation, the convergence of insurance development among provinces in China is more obvious. This shows that the flowing of capital, technology, and labor force between regions may be beneficial to the balanced development of insurance among the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitiveness on a small and large scale is necessary for growth. A definitive link between the level of competitiveness and growth has been difficult to prove. One of the primary objectives of economic planning is to promote price and exchange rate stability. Entrepreneurialism and productivity also increase the country's export competitiveness. The aim of this study is to test for the convergence in competitiveness and convergence club existence in selected economies. No previous research had tested for convergence in competitiveness using a nonlinear timevarying factor model. This paper provides an overview on convergence in competitiveness and convergence clubs' existence for 42 countries using quarterly data from 1994q1 to 2020q4 testing on competitiveness. Convergence log (t) test results show differences in competitiveness between classified convergence clubs. Russia, Brazil, and Turkey are the clubs (groups of countries) that show a transitional path (convergence in competitiveness) that differs entirely from the rest of the sample. Countries with more natural resources and exogenous monetary policies follow a unique development path to competitiveness. We find no evidence of divergence in countries within the clubs. However, we find a club (group of countries) following a clear divergence path from the other countries (Russia, Brazil, and Turkey). Our findings could potentially explain the increase in divergence in competitiveness across countries after the financial crisis of 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper analyzes the convergence in economic and social terms across Brazilian states from 1990 to 2010. We argue that a more ample perspective is enlightening because income convergence does not necessarily go hand in hand with social convergence and income is not the only relevant aspect of well-being. Social convergence is captured by selected indicators, such as years of study, life expectancy at birth and the absence of crime. Using OLS, fixed effects and spatial dependence models, we find that GDP per capita has the highest dispersion across states and its absolute convergence is relatively slow. Social conditions, in contrast, have become considerably more equal and seem to converge towards a unique steady state at half-lives between 8 and 12 years. Absence of crime shows a peculiar behavior and a non-linear inconclusive convergence path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural reforms have failed to bring about convergence in the Eurozone. This argument is made here by comparing two countries – Italy and Germany – assumed to embody contrasting economic models. Three main points are made in the paper. First, the generalisation of the macroeconomic strategy of the northern countries threatens to undermine political support for European integration, as the disparities it engenders drive the electoral successes of Eurosceptic parties. Second, Italian performance does not display the traits commonly associated with the southern European syndrome. Third, Italy's core economic problem – its persistently low GDP and productivity growth – is due to its prolonged efforts to reduce a public debt which originated in the 1970s and 1980s. The paper argues for the need to return to a macroeconomic analysis, as opposed to the focus on the microeconomic issue of competitiveness, and for the need to consider other policies in addition to the completion of the banking, financial and fiscal unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To date, sustainable development has been the most important discourse informing planning, a powerful rhetoric for solving environmental problems that shows confidence in human ingenuity and technological advancements. However, recent advances in information and communication technologies, are prompting the development of smart(er) approaches to (sustainable) development, which might be signifying a departure from the more traditional, or perhaps earlier, greener narratives underpinning sustainable development. Within this context and informed by analysis of the literature, this paper aims to reflect on the extent to which ideas of going green and going smart are converging or diverging from the path towards sustainable development. This is done using convergence theory and Bennet's typology (1991) of similarities as an analytical framework. The findings suggest that the convergence of greening and smart ideas for sustainable development might be better achieved if smart-centric approaches to policy- and planning are subsumed in the overarching vision of environmental quality and resilience, with green approaches to urban development setting the path and driving decisions towards a sustainable future. Highlights • Climate risk and innovations in practice are suggesting a move away from greening efforts in planning for sustainable development. • In the name of resource and efficiency use, cities are responding by adopting smart(er) approaches to development. • This paper explores whether green and smart approaches converge, diverge or diffuse in their sustainable development quest. • Greater convergence could be achieved if smart = centric approaches were subsumed in green approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to determine the regional convergence process in Visegrad (V4) economies after their accession to the EU at the NUTS3 level. The study uses kernel density estimation for 114 regions in V4 countries. The research period covered the years 2004-2015. The results show that all V4 economies except for Hungary reduced the distance to the EU-28 average over the period considered. The external convergence process was accompanied by an increase in income inequalities at the regional level. In all the countries, the estimated distributions of regional income were bimodal, with the clearly marked second mode related to the capital region. The obtained research results should be an indication of economic decisions in the context of regional (also known as cohesion) policy and economic competitiveness. This paper contributes to the existing literature in three ways. First, the study was conducted at the NUTS3 level, which is currently the lowest possible level of disaggregation. Second, the analysis covered both the period before and after the global financial crisis. Third, the results of the internal convergence study are not biased by the method used, as this method has already been tested in previous research for a group of large European economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic diplomacy is known as a symbol of the European Union and represents its primary function. With the development of science and new ways of communication, the European Union can organize a new approach for its economic diplomacy. The main advantage of the European Union as a soft power is that its economic and diplomatic interests are represented in a manner that is based not on confrontation but economic collaboration with other states. The disadvantage is that this domain is presently not used enough to represent EU interests. This paper describes economic diplomacy in general and the economic diplomacy of the EU in particular. Divided into three parts, the goal of this study is to outline the importance of economic diplomacy, its evolution, the influence of this domain on the creation of previous economic treaties, and its possible future impact on the development of new agreements between the European Union and its neighbour countries. The main methodology used is descriptive, presenting the evolution of this field and the new business strategies that can be used to improve cooperation at the eastern border of the European Union. Therefore here are presented the historical background of EU Economic diplomacy, its present issues and future challenges. The quantitative data used in this research paper are based on information from the EU website and on the actual events concerning debates about economic diplomacy and its future. The research questions presented herein follow the general evolution of this domain and its mutual influence with EU's businesses strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, the effect of magneto-thermal environment on the transverse vibration of magnetically sensitive single-layered graphene sheets (SLGS) has been analyzed based on nonlocal plate theory. Governing differential equations for the analysis of vibration characteristics of SLGS under magneto-thermal environment are derived considering the Lorentz magnetic force obtained from Maxwell's relationship and thermal elasticity. The governing differential equations are solved employing differential quadrature method. Convergence and validation study are performed. Moreover, the influences of SLGS geometrical properties, nonlocal parameter, in-plane magnetic field and environmental temperature change on the vibration characteristics of SLGS are studied and reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Having a common market in latin america might be feasible. • Despite venezuela and Nicaragua, the rest of the countries show signs of convergence. • An economic convergence index is built based on the maastricht criteria. • Convergence is significant during the last decade. This paper aims to analyze economic and commercial convergence in the three active integration agreements in the region: Central American Integration System, Southern Common Market, and Pacific Alliance. To this end, we estimated the Economic Convergence Index and correlations among the main macroeconomic aggregates. The empirical evidence reveals that, apart from Venezuela, Latin American countries have a high potential to form a common market. This potential derives more from the dynamics of their economies than from the political blocs or agreements that States want to pursue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: It is not straightforward to identify the role of institutions for the economic growth. The possible unknown or uncertain areas refer to nonlinearities, time stability, transmission channels, and institutional complementarities. The research problem tackled in this paper is the analysis of the time stability of the relationship between institutions and economic growth and real economic convergence. Purpose of the article: The article aims to verify whether the impact of the institutional environment on GDP dynamics was stable over time or diffed in various subperiods. The analysis covers the EU28 countries and the 1995-2019 period. Methods: We use regression equations with time dummies and interactions to assess the stability of the impact of institutions on economic growth. The analysis is based on the partially overlapping observations. The models are estimated with the use of Blundell and Bond's GMM system estimator. The results are then averaged with the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach. Structural breaks are identified on the basis of the Hidden Markov Models (HMM). Findings & value added: The value added of the study is threefold. First, we use the HMM approach to find structural breaks. Second, the BMA method is applied to assess the robustness of the outcomes. Third, we show the potential of HMM in foresighting. The results of regression estimates indicate that good institution reflected in the greater scope of economic freedom and better governance lead to the higher economic growth of the EU countries. However, the impact of institutions on economic growth was not stable over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines existing interpretations of the ANC's economic and social policy choices during the negotiations that led to South Africa's democracy. The divergence but also convergence crucially in economic policy thinking of key policy actors within the ANC and the National Party (NP) led apartheid regime is contrasted. The National Party's economic policy agenda is discussed with attention to its key 'technocratic' policy actors and how they influentially negotiated neo-liberal policy positions with the ANC. The economic and social policies of the ANC must be seen in contrast as part of a series of attempts historically at advocating social democratic oriented policies. The ANC leadership however marginalised and abandoned these ideas and policies in a social democratic vein in the consensus seeking transition era. The paper tries to explain these shifts and to come to grips with the complexity of the actors, history and politics of ANC policy thinking in the transition era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the time discrete higher order projection method is proposed and analyzed for the time-dependent viscoelastic flow problem. Our numerical method is based on the time iterative discrete schemes. By the projection method, the considered problem is decoupled into two linear subproblems: One is for the velocity and the other is for the pressure. Unconditional stability of the numerical schemes is established. Convergence results for the velocity and pressure are also derived. Our main results of this paper are that the convergence analysis for the velocity is weakly second order and for the pressure is weakly first order. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to confirm the performances of the developed numerical algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation of goods and services are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. Until very recently, there was an implicit belief that the physical expansion of the economic system could be unlimited, as if the planet would have conditions and time enough to recover and continue to supply resources. This belief implies a confidence in an economic system that would provide whatever is necessary for a continuous growing production and consumption. Even believing that technology alone is not enough to solve the current environmental problems, it is certain that it can collaborate to mitigate climate change and to adaptation to changes in the environment. By bringing environmental aspects into discussions, eco-innovations can affect and transform the innovation system in order to create sustainable processes. However, the main challenge towards the transition to a more sustainable, cleaner and more equitable society is to set innovation in a new context, as until very recently it only considered the economic variables. This change means to value the social and environmental dimension of the innovation. In addition to eco-innovation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is spreading in the industrial environment, offering promising perspectives. LCA is considered a valuable methodology in the environmental sustainability of industry. In this context, the present study addresses LCA and its relationship with the generation of eco-innovations. Drawing on contributions from literature on eco-innovation and LCA, the paper analyses available evidence on this relationship in a context of the transition towards sustainable development. To structure the debate, the paper offers a conceptual approach and an illustrative case on international researchers' and practitioners’ perceptions on the potentially positive relationship between eco-innovation and LCA. The study gathers data in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and in Scopus, in order to provide a picture of the distribution of documents retrieved from these databases, dealing with both eco-innovation and LCA topics. The paper concludes that the convergence of the eco-innovation and LCA studies is quite plausible, but at least in its initial phase, the literature that unites both themes is scarcely found in publications in the area of innovation, being more frequent in the area of engineering and management that usually addresses LCA studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though media industry studies are on the rise, there is a major issue: the concept itself is "fuzzy". The goal of this paper is to shed light on the concept. To do so, the paper analyses existing approaches, combining academic references as well as sources commonly used by practitioners (e.g. the OECD, the EU, DCMS). It allows to give three delineations to the media industry: (1) A novel theoretical delineation, (2) a sectoral delineation, and (3) a delineation through the NACE statistical classification system. The main research findings are: (i) the development of a so-called circling model that shows how "mediated content" is at the core of the definition of the media industry; (ii) through the convergence tendencies, many different media activities can play a supporting or facilitating role; (iii) a list of NACE codes to guide statistical analysies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The needed transition from a fossil-to a bio-based economy fosters the utilization of biological resources derived from recycled low value by-products and waste streams. Chain actors face multiple challenges associated with the adoption of novel processing technologies. Bio-based technologies might be related to high switching costs, missing downstream processing technologies, lack of quality standards, missing industry standards, emerging regulatory frameworks. Moreover, as previously unrelated actors form new relationships, value chains are moving towards new structural changes. This paper thus seeks to explore the challenges associated with the emergence of novel value chains with an exploratory case study approach that reviews a new process of recovering phosphate - a typical scarce and fundamental resource - from rapeseed oil press cakes. The contribution of our paper is thus not only to provide conclusions for this specific case, but also, and more importantly, to present a blueprint for other cases of scarce resources that require the establishment of novel supply chains to foster cascading usage of by-products. Expert interviews with different value chain actors have been conducted to investigate arising challenges, and derive implications and a further research agenda. Despite the advantages of the bio-based process, interviews revealed several challenges associated with the emergence of novel value chains: hesitation of respondents in making new investments in terms of equipment and know-how, missing complementary competencies, and difficulties in integrating different industrial sectors to engage in cross-industry innovation, such as food processing (rapeseed oil cakes) and specialty chemicals/mineral (phosphate and its derivatives). These exploratory results open the way for some useful recommendations, enabling us to propose an agenda for further research and policy development in areas such as: development of synergies between academia and industry; formulation of management strategies to support the flexibility of firms to capture opportunities associated with by-product valorization; building a systemic approach at a local level to implement bio-based technology clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the literature on economic development, the upgrading of core state institutions is the sine qua non of promoting growth and development in lesser-developed countries. The European Union (EU) is the first transnational integration regime that has experimented with measures to upgrade core state institutions. It did so in the pre-accession period of the would-be member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In this paper, we empirically explore the developmental effects of the EU-induced upgrading of the judiciary, bureaucracy and competition authority in CEE countries. We base our analysis on two new datasets: one on the quality of foreign trade and the other on institutional reform measures of the judiciary, bureaucracy and competition authority. Our main finding is that EU-induced upgrading of core state institutions, especially the judiciary, significantly improves developmental outcomes. In the post-accession period, however, the European Commission has only a weak capacity to enforce EU-wide norms that can guarantee the quality of these core state institutions. The lack of enforceable standards on the quality of core state institutions undermines the effectiveness of EU policies aimed at achieving economic convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]