International Conference on Eurasian Economies
4-5 November 2010 – Istanbul, TURKEY
Paper detail
Paper ID : 214
Status : Paper published
Language : English
Topic : Growth and Development
Presenter: Ph.D. candidate Carmen Wieslhuber
Session : 1B Growth & Development
Convergence Across Kazakh Regions
Convergence Across Kazakh Regions
- Ph.D. candidate Miriam Frey (University of Regensburg, Germany)
- Ph.D. candidate Carmen Wieslhuber (University of Regensburg, Germany)
Abstract
Even though Kazakhstan is one of the most successful transition countries in Central Asia it has been neglected in the literature on regional convergence. This paper fills the gap with an empirical analysis of the convergence process on the regional level using annual gross regional product (GRP) data for the period 1998-2008 for the 16 Kazakh regions. Sigma convergence implies that the dispersion of per capita GRP, measured as the standard deviation of per capita GRP across regions, declines over time. Given the growing variation in per capita GRP over time this phenomenon cannot be found for Kazakhstan. In the neoclassical growth model, under the assumption of similar steady states, the growth rate of per capita GRP is negatively related to the initial level of per capita GRP. Surprisingly, we do not find this relation for the Kazakh regions. The data show that there is no evidence for absolute beta convergence. In contrast, the Kazakh regions even seem to diverge.
JEL codes: O40, O53
Frey, Miriam, Wieslhuber, Carmen (2010). "Convergence Across Kazakh Regions" in Proceedings of International Conference of Eurasian Economies 2010, pp.59-63, Istanbul, TURKEY.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36880/C01.00214
Session 1B: Growth & Development
