Long-run growth in the OECD: A test of the parallel growth paths hypothesis

A prediction of a class of neoclassical growth models is that countries with similar levels of integration in the world economy will have parallel long-run growth paths. We test this hypothesis for the OECD, using estimates of long-run mean growth rates of per capita output for each country for the period 1870-2005. The results show strong evidence for unconditional β-convergence only in the post-WWII period of 1951-1974. The results serve as a caution against drawing inferences regarding long-run growth patterns from this sample of countries when the time frame includes the post-WWII golden-age period.