The substantial gap in per capita income across countries persists. Many developing countries escaped the poverty trap to join the club of middle-income economies but find it hard to reach high incomes.
Does the so-called “middle-income trap” exist as a major hurdle for growing countries? What are the channels through which the structural change featured by the rural-urban migration and declining agriculture shares contribute to growth? How do the history roots back to pre-industrial era play a role in determining a country’s growth trajectory? Using both contemporary data and historical (very long run) data, the CID researchers provide empirical evidence for above questions.
SDG alignment
Recent publications
- Ye, L.,Robertson, P. (2019). Hitting the Great Wall: Structural change and China's growth slowdown In: China Economic Review, 56, 1 - 19
- Madsen, J.,Robertson, P.,Ye, L. (2019). Malthus was right: Explaining a millennium of stagnation In: European Economic Review, 118, 51 - 68
- Ye, L.,Robertson, P. (2018). How Important was Labor Reallocation for China's Growth? A Skeptical Assessment In: Review of Income and Wealth, 64, 828 - 852
- Ye, L.,Robertson, P. (2016). On the Existence of a Middle-Income Trap In: Economic Record, 92, 173 - 189
Work in progress
- Madsen, J.,Robertson, P.,Ye, L. Convergence in the Malthusian Regime.
