We examine the phenomenon of real-income stagnation in a large cross-section of countries during the last four decades. Stagnation is defi ned as negligible or negative growth extending over a number of years. We fi nd that stagnation has aff ected more than three fi fths of countries (103 out of 168). Stagnating countries were more likely to have been poor, in Latin America or sub-Saharan Africa, conflict ridden and dependent on primary commodity exports. Stagnation is recurrent: countries that were stagnators in the 1960s had a likelihood of 75 percent of having been stagnators in the 1990s.
What Is Stagnation? -- Stagnation Experience across Countries and over Time -- Factors Associated with Stagnation -- The Tendency for Stagnation to Persist -- Conclusions.

38 p. : graphs, tables

Includes bibliographical references (p. 13).