Date of Award:
5-2024
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Science (MS)
Department:
Political Science
Committee Chair(s)
Colin Flint
Committee
Colin Flint
Committee
Jeanie Johnson
Committee
Anthony Peacock
Abstract
Do poor countries catch up to rich countries? To answer that question, countries were divided into upper class (core), middle class (semi-periphery), and lower class (periphery) based on degree of industrialization as indicated by primary energy consumption data. Findings indicated twenty-three upward transitions and five downward transitions during the period examined. Asymmetrical upward mobility was understood in the context of geographic expansion of the system. This sufficiently increased the population of the lower class (periphery) to support larger populations in the middle class (semi-periphery) and upper class (core). Nevertheless, probability analysis indicated a stable system characterized by high levels of inertia and low probability of social mobility. Although there were instances of upward mobility between 1816 and 1916, there were no examples of a country moving from the lower class (periphery) to the upper class (core). Even so, entropy measures suggested economic convergence was in progress for three of the four periods examined. This finding challenges the view that economic convergence is a new phenomenon.
Checksum
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Walker, Jared, "Do Poor Countries Catch Up to Rich Countries? Structural Change in the World-Economy, 1816-1916" (2024). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present. 113.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd2023/113
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