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Catch up growth and social capability in developing countries : a conceptual and measurement proposal

Andersson, Martin LU and Palacio, Andrés LU (2017) In OASIS. Observatorio de Analisis de los Sistemas Internacionales p.7-23
Abstract
While the income per capita in the developing world since the turn of the Millennium has grown faster than that of the developed world, the question whether there is an ongoing process of catching up between countries remains. The notion of income convergence has provided many insights into the sources for long-run growth but has largely neglected the role of social capabilities in economic development. By social capabilities we mean the qualification of the ‘theory of convergence’ which between countries tend to vary inversely with regard to productivity levels. The social capabilities approach holds that a country’s potential for rapid growth is strong when “it is technologically backward but socially advanced” (see Abramovitz,... (More)
While the income per capita in the developing world since the turn of the Millennium has grown faster than that of the developed world, the question whether there is an ongoing process of catching up between countries remains. The notion of income convergence has provided many insights into the sources for long-run growth but has largely neglected the role of social capabilities in economic development. By social capabilities we mean the qualification of the ‘theory of convergence’ which between countries tend to vary inversely with regard to productivity levels. The social capabilities approach holds that a country’s potential for rapid growth is strong when “it is technologically backward but socially advanced” (see Abramovitz, 1986:388). This means that the potential to catch up under globalization is strongest for countries in which social capabilities are developed to allow successful use of technologies and where institutional arrangements are conducive to economic progress. Yet there is no clear agreement in the literature on the main components of social capabilities or how to measure them. Our framework argues that the role of capabilities in catching up needs to understand them in terms of structural transformation, economic and social inclusion, state ́s autonomy and accountability. Without progress in these dimensions within-country inequality may increase and might in turn lead to stagnating growth and slim prospects for global income convergence.
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Catching up, shrinking, income gap, social capability
in
OASIS. Observatorio de Analisis de los Sistemas Internacionales
issue
26
pages
7 - 23
publisher
Universidad Externado De Colombia
ISSN
2346-2132
DOI
10.18601/16577558.n26.02
project
Resilience to economic shrinking: A social capability approach to processes of catching up in the developing world since the 1950s
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2b35f4dc-47fc-45d1-9b01-794d2d52b972
date added to LUP
2017-09-20 13:58:57
date last changed
2021-03-22 21:41:34
@article{2b35f4dc-47fc-45d1-9b01-794d2d52b972,
  abstract     = {{While the income per capita in the developing world since the turn of the Millennium has grown faster than that of the developed world, the question whether there is an ongoing process of catching up between countries remains. The notion of income convergence has provided many insights into the sources for long-run growth but has largely neglected the role of social capabilities in economic development. By social capabilities we mean the qualification of the ‘theory of convergence’ which between countries tend to vary inversely with regard to productivity levels. The social capabilities approach holds that a country’s potential for rapid growth is strong when “it is technologically backward but socially advanced” (see Abramovitz, 1986:388). This means that the potential to catch up under globalization is strongest for countries in which social capabilities are developed to allow successful use of technologies and where institutional arrangements are conducive to economic progress. Yet there is no clear agreement in the literature on the main components of social capabilities or how to measure them. Our framework argues that the role of capabilities in catching up needs to understand them in terms of structural transformation, economic and social inclusion, state ́s autonomy and accountability. Without progress in these dimensions within-country inequality may increase and might in turn lead to stagnating growth and slim prospects for global income convergence. <br/>}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Martin and Palacio, Andrés}},
  issn         = {{2346-2132}},
  keywords     = {{Catching up, shrinking; income gap; social capability}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{26}},
  pages        = {{7--23}},
  publisher    = {{Universidad Externado De Colombia}},
  series       = {{OASIS. Observatorio de Analisis de los Sistemas Internacionales}},
  title        = {{Catch up growth and social capability in developing countries : a conceptual and measurement proposal}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.18601/16577558.n26.02}},
  doi          = {{10.18601/16577558.n26.02}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}