Convergence in Per Capita Income and Migration Across the Swedish Counties 1906-1990

Abstract

This paper finds strong and robust evidence of convergence in per capita income across the twenty-four Swedish counties 1906-1990. It is found that migration has a positive effect, albeit small, on the speed of convergence. Holding net migration constant, the estimated speed of convergence is around 3 percent per year, which is higher than estimates obtained by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1991,1992) for other regional data sets. One likely explanation of this finding is that the current study, as opposed to previous studies, adjusts incomes to account for regional differences in cost of living.Regional Economic Growth; Convergence; Migration