Convergence in SACU countries_Dataset

The main research hypothesis is that there is income convergence in economically integrated countries such as those of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). This dataset can be used to test for both unconditional and conditional beta convergence. The data shows that there is no unconditional convergence in SACU countries during the period 2002-2018 since the coefficient of the initial income was found to be insignificant. However, when additional variables including the inflation rate, trade openness, investment, and government expenditure are taken into account, then there is evidence of conditional convergence in SACU countries. Unless otherwise specified, all data was obtained from the World Bank - World Development Indicators (2019) and (2015) in some cases.核心研究假说为：经济一体化国家（如南部非洲关税同盟（Southern African Customs Union，SACU）成员国）间存在收入趋同现象。本数据集可用于检验无条件β趋同（unconditional beta convergence）与条件β趋同（conditional beta convergence）两类假说。数据结果显示，2002-2018年期间，南部非洲关税同盟成员国不存在无条件β趋同，这是因为初始收入的系数经检验不具备统计显著性。然而，当纳入通货膨胀率、贸易开放度、投资及政府支出等额外控制变量后，南部非洲关税同盟成员国则呈现出条件β趋同的特征。除非另有说明，所有数据均来源于世界银行《世界发展指标（World Development Indicators）》2019年版，部分案例数据取自2015年版。