Incomes in more and more developing countries are starting to close the gap with those in OECD countries in the past decade, as we pointed out in our previous posts on economic convergence. In fact, in 65 countries GDP per capita grew at least twice as fast as in the high-income OECD countries, sharply up from just 12 countries in the 1990s. That means more convergence in the global economy. Despite this shift, many countries are still poor or classed as “struggling”. Our map shows which countries have converged and which continue to lag behind.
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Economies in many developed countries may be starting to recover slowly from the recession, the jobs crisis looks set to last a while yet. By the end of 2011, OECD countries will need to create 15 million new jobs just to get employment levels back to where they were before the crisis hit. (more…)
The 2000s were for much of the developing world a first decade of strong growth since the 1970s. They were marked by a global shift in wealth and the emergence of a new geography of the world economy. But the shift is not just about major emerging markets such as China, but shows up in African growth figures as well. This should not be surprising: a 2008 article in the OECD Observer reported that Africa had survived the early crisis quite well, and since 2000 the magazine has been highlighting the growing interest in Africa among private investors, not to mention its brighter image as a place for young people from OECD countries to go and find work. (more…)