This paper presents, within a framework of the Solow model, evidence that there should be two different reasons for convergence. One is due to diminishing returns to capital and the other is due to technological diffusion. This paper shows that OECD and low income countries follow a pattern of conditional convergence but middle income countries do not. This seems to imply that technological dif...

Abstract In this study, we applied recently developed panel unit root and cointegration techniques to examine the long-run real income per capita and price elasticities for demand of electricity in selected Middle East and North African (MENA) countries using an annual data series from 1990 to 2011.Our main finding from the panel analysis is that the demand for electricity is highly price ela...

T his paper studies top income shares in Iran, using 26 Household Expenditure and Income Surveys conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran over the period 1985-2015. It is shown that after the imposed Iran-Iraq war, top income groups were raising their real income and income share by 2006; however, both their share and real income fell immediately after 2006 such that the numbers a...

We document a relationship between income inequality and variability in aggregate consumption growth. In high-income countries, greater income inequality is associated with more volatility in consumption growth, whereas in lower-income countries, higher levels of income inequality are associated with less volatility. We present weaker evidence that variability in real GDP growth is also related...

Corruption and the Shadow Economy: An Empirical Analysis This paper analyzes the influence of the shadow economy on corruption and vice versa. We hypothesize that corruption and shadow economy are substitutes in high income countries while they are complements in low income countries. The hypotheses are tested for a crosssection of 120 countries and a panel of 70 countries for the period 1994-2...