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Retrospective: The Convergence Debate between David Hume and Josiah Tucker

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  • Bruce Truitt Elmslie

Abstract

One of the most interesting debates in modern economics centers around the question of whether integrating economies necessarily converge in terms of per capita income and technology. This debate is often believed to have been started by Thorstein Veblen in 1915. However, this paper demonstrates that the genesis of the convergence question goes back to the Scottish Enlightenment and the publication of an essay by David Hume in 1742. The ensuing 'rich country-poor country' debate--between David Hume on the convergence side and Josiah Tucker on the nonconvergence side--represents one of the first major doctrinal debates in economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Truitt Elmslie, 1995. "Retrospective: The Convergence Debate between David Hume and Josiah Tucker," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 207-216, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:9:y:1995:i:4:p:207-16
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.9.4.207
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    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.9.4.207
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J. M. Low, 1952. "An Eighteenth Century Controversy in the Theory of Economic Progress," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 20(3), pages 311-330, September.
    2. Arthur I. Bloomfield, 1978. "The Impact of Growth and Technology on Trade in Nineteenth-Century British Thought," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 608-635, Winter.
    3. Bruce Elmslie, 1994. "The Endogenous Nature of Technological Progress and Transfer in Adam Smith's Thought," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 649-663, Winter.
    4. Veblen, Thorstein, 1915. "Imperial Germany and The Industrial Revolution," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number veblen1915.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rassekh, Farhad & Panik, Michael J. & Kolluri, Bharat R., 2001. "A test of the convergence hypothesis: the OECD experience, 1950-1990," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 147-157.
    2. Medeiros, Marcelo C & Burity, Priscilla & Assunção, Juliano, 2015. "Unobserved Heterogeneity in Regression Models: A Semiparametric Approach Based on Nonlinear Sieves," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 35(1), October.
    3. Nevin Cavusoglu & Edinaldo Tebaldi, 2006. "Evaluating growth theories and their empirical support: An assessment of the convergence hypothesis," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 49-75.
    4. Tunali, Çiǧdem Börke & Yilanci, Veli, 2010. "Are per capita incomes of MENA countries converging or diverging?," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 389(21), pages 4855-4862.
    5. Jayant Menon, 2013. "Narrowing the development divide in ASEAN: the role of policy," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 27(2), pages 25-51, November.
    6. IFEGWU, Kalu Ukpai & AJETOMOBI, Joshua Olusegun & AJIBOYE, Babatunde Oluseyi, 2015. "Test Of The Catch-Up Hypothesis In African Agricultural Growth Rates," Review of Agricultural and Applied Economics (RAAE), Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, vol. 18(2), pages 1-8, September.
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