The topic of convergence is at the heart of a wide-ranging debate in the growth literature. Empirical studies of convergence differ widely in their theoretical backgrounds, empirical specifications and in their treatment of cross-sectional heterogeneity. Despite these differences, a rate of...

The strategic choices regarding innovation and R&D policy in Portugal have, over the last two decades, produced various positive benefits, in which particularly the regions of Lisbon and Algarve have taken the lead. These are the only parts of the country that converge towards the European...

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in the <I>Journal of Environmental Economics & Management</I>, 2009, 58, 27-42.<P> The literature that tests for U-shaped relationships using panel data, such as those between pollution and income or inequality and growth, reports widely divergent...</p></i>

Total factor productivity of twenty OECD countries for a recent period (1971-2002) is explained using six different models based on the established literature. Traditionally, entrepreneurship is not dealt with in these models. In the present paper it is shown that – when this variable is added...

The literature that tests for U-shaped relationships using panel data, such as those between pollution and income or inequality and growth, reports widely divergent (parametric and non-parametric) empirical findings. We explain why lack of identification lies at the root of these differences. To...

The topic of convergence is at the heart of a wide-ranging debate in the growth literature. Empirical studies of convergence differ widely in their theoretical backgrounds, empirical specifications and in their treatment of cross-sectional heterogeneity. Despite these differences, a rate of...