An extensive literature on poverty traps suggests that high levels of poverty deter growth. However, a seemingly basic implication of the underlying theoretical models, namely that countries suffering from higher levels of poverty should grow less rapidly, has remained untested. A parallel...

An extensive literature on poverty traps suggests that high levels of poverty deter growth. However, a seemingly basic implication of the underlying theoretical models, namely that countries suffering from higher levels of poverty should grow less rapidly, has remained untested. A parallel...

Global eradication of extreme poverty requires absolute convergence of poverty rates worldwide towards zero. Using data for more than a hundred developing countries over 35 years, we conclude that such goal is likely to remain elusive. Rather than absolute convergence, we find club convergence:...