Economic Integration and Convergence: an Historical Perspective

Theory is ambiguous as to how globalization influences the relative performances of rich and poor countries. This paper surveys some recent literature on the historical links between international commodity and factor market integration and convergence. Focussing on the late 19th century, a period b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic integration 1999-06, Vol.14 (2), p.133-168
Main Author: O'Rourke, Kevin H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capital mobility
Developing countries
Economic growth rate
Emigration
Globalization
Gross domestic product
International trade
Irish immigration
Real wages
Trade development
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Theory is ambiguous as to how globalization influences the relative performances of rich and poor countries. This paper surveys some recent literature on the historical links between international commodity and factor market integration and convergence. Focussing on the late 19th century, a period both of globalization and convergence, it shows that trade had an important impact on factor prices in some countries, just as Heckscher and Ohlin would have predicted. Migration was however a more important force for convergence during this period, while international capital flows led to both convergence and divergence. The analysis suggests that more attention should be paid to open economy forces when discussing convergence.
ISSN:1225-651X