Convergence in Colombia 1990-2015 : War and Clubs

Abstract

This document tests whether there has been convergence in the percapita income across regions in Colombia between 1990 and 2015. It also discusses the role of war in that context and tests for the existence of convergence clubs. The results display that Colombia has been a successful case of both conditional and unconditional convergence, closing the gap between poor and rich departments in approximately 1.6% per year. Furthermore, no significant impact of war over convergence was found. Lastly, evidence suggests that several groups of Colombian departments have created convergence clubs, in which the speed of convergence is 6.8% per year.