"If Technology Has Arrived Everywhere, Why Has Income Diverged?"
by Comin, Diego; Mestieri, Martí (2018)
Abstract
We study the lags with which new technologies are adopted across countries, and their long-run penetration rates once they are adopted. Using data from the last two centuries, we document two new facts: there has been convergence in adoption lags between rich and poor countries, while there has been divergence in penetration rates. Using a model of adoption and growth, we show that these changes in the pattern of technology diffusion account for 80% of the Great Income Divergence between rich and poor countries since 1820.
Keywords
Technology, Historiography, Historical Context, Empirical Study, Income, Wage, Wage Gap, InequalityLinks to Reference
- https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/mac.20150175
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/mac.20150175
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w19010.pdf
Citation
Comin, Diego, and Martí Mestieri. “If Technology Has Arrived Everywhere, Why Has Income Diverged?” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, vol. 10, no. 3, aeaweb.org, 2018, pp. 137–78, doi:10.1257/mac.20150175.
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