The positive correlation between real (PPP) investment rates and levels of PPP income across countries is one of the most robust findings of the empirical growth literature. We show that this relationship is almost entirely driven by differences in the price of investment relative to output, rather than by differences in nominal investment rates. When measured in nominal terms (i.e., at nationa...

Kremer, Onatski, and Stock (KOS) criticize twin peaks dynamics in the evolution of cross-country income dynamics. They suggest instead convergence to a single peak at high incomes, with a prolonged transition when polarization and inequality increase. This article makes three points. First, the data are as consistent with a twin peaks characterization as they are for KOS’s preferred description...

This paper argues -in line with the proposals of the recent Stiglitz Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress -that we should now be measuring a nation‟s emotional prosperity rather than its economic prosperity (that is, we ought to focus on the level of mental well-being not the number of pounds in people‟s bank accounts). The paper reviews recent ideas in this...