Drawing on various theoretical and methodological approaches, many scholars have over the years investigated the factors underlying economic performance. Yet, findings are often contradictory and inconclusive. The paper sheds light on a number of unsettled questions concerning economic...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate convergence or divergence trends at global scale. Design/methodology/approach – The paper questions the methodology and findings of the conventional convergence literature using linear OLS models. It introduces polynomial (quadratic)...