Abstract

This research tests the economic convergence hypothesis of 31 inland Chinese provinces over the period from 1952 to 2017. Regression and descriptive analysis methods are adopted to study the economic convergence among these Chinese provinces in terms of GDP growth and per-capita GDP growth. The research results show that GDP growth does not exhibit a tendency of convergence, rejecting the absolute convergence hypothesis among the Chinese provinces. But per-capita GDP growth does suggest convergence, especially after China’s economic reform from 1978 to 2017, supporting the relative convergence hypothesis among the Chinese provinces. Practical and policy implications are provided based on the research results.

Key words: Economic convergence, regression, descriptive analysis, GDP, per-capita GDP, China.