Convergence in Mississippi: A Spatial Approach

Mississippi constitutes an interesting case study for analyzing the income convergence process because of several characteristics, such as the fairly large number of counties, its relative homogeneous economy and its low percapita income compared with the rest of the U.S. This study analyzes the convergence process at county level, from both a descriptive and general test perspective, applying a spatial statistics framework. It finds evidence of low but significant spatial correlation, suggesting an almost pattern-free spatial distribution of percapita income growth. It also finds significant evidence of b convergence, albeit at a low speed (less than one percent).