This paper presents a multi-country version of the Ramsey growth model with cross-country technological interdependence. The results rationalize several stylized facts about growth and convergence. First, individual countries tend to converge toward country-specific balanced growth paths rather than steady-state equilibria. Second, an economy that accounts for a smaller share of the world technology distribution harnesses the “advantages of backwardness” to catch up at a faster speed. Third, countries grow at different rates during the phase of transitional dynamics. However, technological interdependence creates a force toward cross-country convergence in the growth rate and stability of world income distribution in the long run. Finally, cross-country differences in structural characteristics and initial conditions lead to divergences in the level of income per capita.

本文提出了具有跨国技术相互依存关系的拉姆齐增长模型的多国版本。结果合理化了几个关于增长和趋同的典型事实。首先，个别国家倾向于趋同于特定国家的平衡增长路径，而不是稳态均衡。其次，在世界技术分布中占比较小的经济体利用“后发优势”以更快的速度迎头赶上。第三，国家在转型动态阶段以不同的速度增长。然而，从长远来看，技术的相互依存创造了一种力量，使世界收入分配的增长率和稳定性实现跨国趋同。最后，