Rich nations,poor nations:how much can multiple equilibria explain?

摘要

This paper asks whether the income gap between rich and poor nations can be explained by multiple equilibria.We explore the quantitative implications of a simple two-sector general equilibrium model that gives rise to multiplicity,and calibrate the model for 127 countries.Under the assumptions of the model,around a quarter of the world's economies are found to be in a low output equilibrium.We also find that,since the output gains associated with an equilibrium switch are sizeable,the model can explain between 15 and 25% of the variation in the logarithm of GDP per worker across countries.