DOES TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY CONVERGE AMONG ASEAN COUNTRIES?

Abstract

This paper examines the productivity convergence of the five original Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore, and Thailand (ASEAN-5), using annual data spanning the period 1968to 2014. Results from two-break Lagrange multiplier and residual augmented leastsquares Lagrange multiplier unit root tests reveal strong evidence of productivityconvergence in case of ASEAN-5. Further, the results based on Phillips–Sul panelclub convergence also reveal productivity convergence. To check the robustness ofour finding, we use an alternative measure of total factor productivity and still findevidence of convergence. We infer that such productivity improvements may helpASEAN countries to achieve a higher pace of economic growth.