Social Indicators and Productivity Convergence in Developing Countries

Abstract Much of the analysis of productivity convergence has addressed some aspect of it in industrialized countries. The approach here is broader in two respects. First, although some information is presented on productivity measures, much of the data analyzed here deals with other measures of performance that will be referred to collectively as social indicators. These indicators are not narrowly economic but include indices of outcomes, such as life expectancy; indices of the availability ofinputs, such as doctors per capita; indices that could be labeled as inputs or outcomes, such as per-capita caloric intake of food; and measures of government expenditure patterns. Second, the sample of countries examined is large and includes 21 high-income countries and up to 88 developing countries, depending on the availability ofdata for the particular variables and time periods. The years covered for each variable fall within the period 1960 to 1985, with a few variables covering virtually the whole interval and some others available for only a few years within this period.