Investigating Convergence of the U.S.
Regions: A Time-Series Analysis
by Richard E. Kane
Presented at the Annual Conference of the Mid-Continent Regional Science
Association, June 31-June 2, 2001, Duluth, MN
Most economists conclude that the U.S. regions have converged in per
capita earnings during a majority of the 20th century, though controversy
abounds over the methods employed to test for such convergence. Using
time-series techniques, this paper finds evidence that the U.S. regions
have conditionally converged in per capita earnings. The findings in this
paper differ from cross-sectional studies, which implicitly assume that
all regions converge toward the same steady-state and the same rate. The
findings in this paper differ from other time-series studies with its
use of recursive parameter estimates.
Last updated: November 12, 2002