This paper examines whether economic integration facilitates convergence in per capita income by investigating the post-war convergence experience within three regional economic areas: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European U...
This paper examines whether economic integration facilitates convergence in per capita income by investigating the post-war convergence experience within three regional economic areas: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), and the Latin American Free Trade Area (LAFTA). A number of different empirical tests and specifications provide evidence that convergence in income per capita has been the strongest and most rapid in the EU, milder but probably present in LAFTA, and nonexistent in ASEAN. (JEL Classification: F15, O41)