1.According to economists Robert Barro and Xavier Sala-i-Martin, convergence isn't just for entire nations: It's also true for states and regions, as well. They looked at state-level GDP per capita in the United States in 1880, and then calculated how fast each state grew over the next 120 years. They found that convergence held almost exactly.

a. With this in mind, draw arrows to connect the GDP per capita data on the left with the long-term growth rates on the right.

GOP per capita in 1880 West: $8,500 East: $6,300 Midwest: $4,700 South: $2,800 Annual growth rate, 1880-2000 1.6%

1.7%

2.2%

1.2%

Growth, Capital Accumulation, and the Economics of Ideas: Catching Up vs. Cutting Edge • CHA PTER 8 • 167

b. Graph the data from part a in the figure below.

Does this look like Figure 8.11 's story about the OECD countries, or is it quite different?

Annual growth rate, 1880- 2000 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 GOP per capita, 1880 Note: Barro and Sala-i-Martin also found that convergence also held almost exactly for regions of Japan: The areas that were poorest in 1930 grew fastest over the next 70 years. Thus, it is difficult to find major evidence in favor of the commonsense idea that "the poor areas grow poorer."