The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten

Since we introduced the term “middle-income trap” in 2006, it has become popular among policy makers and researchers. In May 2015, a search of Google Scholar returned more than 3,000 articles including the term and about 300 articles with the term...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gill, Indermit S., Kharas, Homi
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2015
Subjects:
WTO
GDP
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/08/24954519/middle-income-trap-turns-ten
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22660
id okr-10986-22660
recordtype oai_dc
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic MIC TRAPS
GROWTH RATES
MONETARY POLICY
CAPITAL MARKETS
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
CLOSED ECONOMIES
URBANIZATION
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
CAPITAL ACCUMULATION
FOREIGN INVESTORS
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT
INCOME
INTEREST
MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRY
EXPECTATIONS
EMERGING ECONOMIES
FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES
PROPERTY RIGHTS
EXCHANGE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
GDP PER CAPITA
LIQUIDITY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EXPORTS
ELASTICITY
ENTRY POINT
POLITICAL ECONOMY
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
INCENTIVES
VARIABLES
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
PRICE
BENCHMARKS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
BANKRUPTCY
PROTECTIONISM
FREE TRADE
ECONOMIC STRUCTURES
WAGE GROWTH
TRENDS
SAFETY NETS
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
CENTRAL BANK
EXTERNAL FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT
FOREIGN MARKETS
PER CAPITA INCOMES
ADVANCED COUNTRIES
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
PUBLIC POLICY
LABOR MARKET
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY
PER CAPITA INCOME
CURRENCY
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
RENT
POLITICAL POWER
DEMOCRACY
EXCHANGE RATES
PRODUCTIVITY
MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES
EXTERNALITIES
INDUSTRIALIZATION
GLOBALIZATION
MARKETS
WTO
INCOME LEVELS
VENTURE CAPITAL
MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES
TRADE POLICY
NATURAL RESOURCES
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
REAL ESTATE
LIBERALIZATION
ECONOMIC RESEARCH
CARBON EMISSIONS
TAXES
GROWTH THEORIES
INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
UNEMPLOYMENT
DEREGULATION
EQUITY
INVESTORS
PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
HUMAN CAPITAL
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
FEDERAL RESERVE
VALUE ADDED
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
CAPITAL
WAGES
EFFICIENT CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
VOLATILITY
BARRIERS
MARKET CONDITIONS
FINANCIAL CRISIS
STARTUPS
MARKET PRICES
FUTURE
VALUE
COMPETITIVENESS
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
PATENTS
NATIONAL INCOME
KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
DIVIDEND
ECONOMY
AGRICULTURE
INCOMES
MIDDLE- INCOME ECONOMIES
GROWTH MODELS
ECONOMIC RENTS
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
BALANCE SHEET
BENCHMARK
TRADE LIBERALIZATION
MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY
MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRIES
ECONOMICS
TRADE DIVERSION
GOVERNANCE
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
SOCIAL CAPITAL
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ADVANCED COUNTRY
TRADE
GDP
GOODS
THEORY
GROWTH RATE
INVESTMENT
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
SHARE
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
FINANCIAL MARKETS
ECONOMIC PROGRESS
BANKING
CURRENCY RISK
DECENTRALIZATION
MONEY MARKET
INVESTMENTS
RISK MANAGEMENT
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
CAPITAL FLOW
GROWTH THEORY
RAPID GROWTH
EXCHANGE RATE
DEMOGRAPHIC
CUSTOMERS
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
LABOR MARKETS
FINANCIAL SECTOR
OPEN ECONOMIES
MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
GROWTH POTENTIAL
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
PRICES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
COMPETITION
spellingShingle MIC TRAPS
GROWTH RATES
MONETARY POLICY
CAPITAL MARKETS
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
CLOSED ECONOMIES
URBANIZATION
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
CAPITAL ACCUMULATION
FOREIGN INVESTORS
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT
INCOME
INTEREST
MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRY
EXPECTATIONS
EMERGING ECONOMIES
FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES
PROPERTY RIGHTS
EXCHANGE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
GDP PER CAPITA
LIQUIDITY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EXPORTS
ELASTICITY
ENTRY POINT
POLITICAL ECONOMY
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
INCENTIVES
VARIABLES
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
PRICE
BENCHMARKS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
BANKRUPTCY
PROTECTIONISM
FREE TRADE
ECONOMIC STRUCTURES
WAGE GROWTH
TRENDS
SAFETY NETS
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
CENTRAL BANK
EXTERNAL FINANCE
DEVELOPMENT
FOREIGN MARKETS
PER CAPITA INCOMES
ADVANCED COUNTRIES
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
PUBLIC POLICY
LABOR MARKET
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY
PER CAPITA INCOME
CURRENCY
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
RENT
POLITICAL POWER
DEMOCRACY
EXCHANGE RATES
PRODUCTIVITY
MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES
EXTERNALITIES
INDUSTRIALIZATION
GLOBALIZATION
MARKETS
WTO
INCOME LEVELS
VENTURE CAPITAL
MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES
TRADE POLICY
NATURAL RESOURCES
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
REAL ESTATE
LIBERALIZATION
ECONOMIC RESEARCH
CARBON EMISSIONS
TAXES
GROWTH THEORIES
INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
UNEMPLOYMENT
DEREGULATION
EQUITY
INVESTORS
PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
HUMAN CAPITAL
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
FEDERAL RESERVE
VALUE ADDED
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
CAPITAL
WAGES
EFFICIENT CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
VOLATILITY
BARRIERS
MARKET CONDITIONS
FINANCIAL CRISIS
STARTUPS
MARKET PRICES
FUTURE
VALUE
COMPETITIVENESS
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
PATENTS
NATIONAL INCOME
KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
DIVIDEND
ECONOMY
AGRICULTURE
INCOMES
MIDDLE- INCOME ECONOMIES
GROWTH MODELS
ECONOMIC RENTS
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
BALANCE SHEET
BENCHMARK
TRADE LIBERALIZATION
MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY
MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRIES
ECONOMICS
TRADE DIVERSION
GOVERNANCE
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
SOCIAL CAPITAL
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ADVANCED COUNTRY
TRADE
GDP
GOODS
THEORY
GROWTH RATE
INVESTMENT
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
SHARE
COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
FINANCIAL MARKETS
ECONOMIC PROGRESS
BANKING
CURRENCY RISK
DECENTRALIZATION
MONEY MARKET
INVESTMENTS
RISK MANAGEMENT
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
CAPITAL FLOW
GROWTH THEORY
RAPID GROWTH
EXCHANGE RATE
DEMOGRAPHIC
CUSTOMERS
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
LABOR MARKETS
FINANCIAL SECTOR
OPEN ECONOMIES
MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
GROWTH POTENTIAL
MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
PRICES
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
COMPETITION
Gill, Indermit S.
Kharas, Homi
The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
geographic_facet East Asia
Europe
Latin America
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7403
description Since we introduced the term “middle-income trap” in 2006, it has become popular among policy makers and researchers. In May 2015, a search of Google Scholar returned more than 3,000 articles including the term and about 300 articles with the term in the title. This paper provides a (non-exhaustive) survey of this literature. The paper then discusses what, in retrospect, we missed when we coined the term. Today, based on developments in East Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe during the past decade, we would have paid more attention to demographic factors, entrepreneurship, and external institutional anchors. We would also make it clearer that to us, the term was as much the absence of a satisfactory theory that could inform development policy in middle-income economies as the articulation of a development phenomenon. Three-quarters of the people in the world now live in middle-income economies, but economists have yet to provide a reliable theory of growth to help policy makers navigate the transition from middle- to high-income status. Hybrids of the Solow-Swan and Lucas-Romer models are not unhelpful, but they are poor substitutes for a well-constructed growth framework.
format Working Paper
author Gill, Indermit S.
Kharas, Homi
author_facet Gill, Indermit S.
Kharas, Homi
author_sort Gill, Indermit S.
title The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
title_short The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
title_full The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
title_fullStr The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
title_full_unstemmed The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten
title_sort middle-income trap turns ten
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2015
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/08/24954519/middle-income-trap-turns-ten
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22660
_version_ 1764451697746247680
spelling okr-10986-226602021-04-23T14:04:10Z The Middle-Income Trap Turns Ten Gill, Indermit S. Kharas, Homi MIC TRAPS GROWTH RATES MONETARY POLICY CAPITAL MARKETS UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ECONOMIC GROWTH CLOSED ECONOMIES URBANIZATION TRADE NEGOTIATIONS CAPITAL ACCUMULATION FOREIGN INVESTORS STRUCTURAL CHANGE MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT INCOME INTEREST MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRY EXPECTATIONS EMERGING ECONOMIES FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES PROPERTY RIGHTS EXCHANGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS GDP PER CAPITA LIQUIDITY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES EXPORTS ELASTICITY ENTRY POINT POLITICAL ECONOMY WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS INCENTIVES VARIABLES ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY PRICE BENCHMARKS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BANKRUPTCY PROTECTIONISM FREE TRADE ECONOMIC STRUCTURES WAGE GROWTH TRENDS SAFETY NETS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK CENTRAL BANK EXTERNAL FINANCE DEVELOPMENT FOREIGN MARKETS PER CAPITA INCOMES ADVANCED COUNTRIES INTERNATIONAL FINANCE PUBLIC POLICY LABOR MARKET TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY PER CAPITA INCOME CURRENCY DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES RENT POLITICAL POWER DEMOCRACY EXCHANGE RATES PRODUCTIVITY MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES EXTERNALITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION GLOBALIZATION MARKETS WTO INCOME LEVELS VENTURE CAPITAL MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES TRADE POLICY NATURAL RESOURCES CAPITAL INVESTMENTS REAL ESTATE LIBERALIZATION ECONOMIC RESEARCH CARBON EMISSIONS TAXES GROWTH THEORIES INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE UNEMPLOYMENT DEREGULATION EQUITY INVESTORS PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH SOCIAL SAFETY NETS HUMAN CAPITAL TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE FEDERAL RESERVE VALUE ADDED ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE CAPITAL WAGES EFFICIENT CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL TRADE VOLATILITY BARRIERS MARKET CONDITIONS FINANCIAL CRISIS STARTUPS MARKET PRICES FUTURE VALUE COMPETITIVENESS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT PATENTS NATIONAL INCOME KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY DIVIDEND ECONOMY AGRICULTURE INCOMES MIDDLE- INCOME ECONOMIES GROWTH MODELS ECONOMIC RENTS INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BALANCE SHEET BENCHMARK TRADE LIBERALIZATION MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY MIDDLE- INCOME COUNTRIES ECONOMICS TRADE DIVERSION GOVERNANCE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS SOCIAL CAPITAL REGIONAL INTEGRATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVANCED COUNTRY TRADE GDP GOODS THEORY GROWTH RATE INVESTMENT TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH SHARE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE FINANCIAL MARKETS ECONOMIC PROGRESS BANKING CURRENCY RISK DECENTRALIZATION MONEY MARKET INVESTMENTS RISK MANAGEMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CAPITAL FLOW GROWTH THEORY RAPID GROWTH EXCHANGE RATE DEMOGRAPHIC CUSTOMERS ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY CAPITAL INVESTMENT LABOR MARKETS FINANCIAL SECTOR OPEN ECONOMIES MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE CAPITAL ACCOUNT GROWTH POTENTIAL MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROSPECTS PRICES DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMPETITION Since we introduced the term “middle-income trap” in 2006, it has become popular among policy makers and researchers. In May 2015, a search of Google Scholar returned more than 3,000 articles including the term and about 300 articles with the term in the title. This paper provides a (non-exhaustive) survey of this literature. The paper then discusses what, in retrospect, we missed when we coined the term. Today, based on developments in East Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe during the past decade, we would have paid more attention to demographic factors, entrepreneurship, and external institutional anchors. We would also make it clearer that to us, the term was as much the absence of a satisfactory theory that could inform development policy in middle-income economies as the articulation of a development phenomenon. Three-quarters of the people in the world now live in middle-income economies, but economists have yet to provide a reliable theory of growth to help policy makers navigate the transition from middle- to high-income status. Hybrids of the Solow-Swan and Lucas-Romer models are not unhelpful, but they are poor substitutes for a well-constructed growth framework. 2015-09-23T18:44:18Z 2015-09-23T18:44:18Z 2015-08 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/08/24954519/middle-income-trap-turns-ten http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22660 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7403 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia Europe Latin America