Economic Growth: Sigma and Beta Convergence Processes Worldwide

The economic growth process worldwide has been subject to several disturbances with different origins. These disruptions have consequences on the economic dynamics of the countries with impacts on human living conditions and the efforts for more sustainable development. These old and new challenges call for contributions that allow for a better understanding of the current contexts, namely in terms of economic evolution and how the interactions between diverse nations have been affected. In this framework, this chapter intends to assess the convergence process worldwide, considering statistical information from the World Bank for the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the last decades. To achieve these objectives, the developments from the Neoclassical Theory were considered, specifically those related to the sigma and beta convergence approaches. To better support the methodologies taken into account, structural breaks were also tested. The findings obtained highlight the differences in the dynamics of economic growth in distinct sub-periods over the last decades.