Are Asian Per Capita GDP Stationary? Evidence from First and Second Generation Panel Unit Root Tests

This study examines stationarity characteristics of per capita GDP of a panel of 17 Asian countries and sub-panels. We employed a series of panel unit root tests that assume cross sectional independence and cross sectional dependence. The results of the second-generation tests reveal stationarity of per capita GDP for the entire Asian panel, as well as the East Asian and High Income Asian sub-panels. However, we find weak evidence for stationarity for the South Asian panel. The stationarity properties of the East Asian countries were strongly consistent with the idea that business cycles have stationary fluctuations around a deterministic trend, and vice versa hold for the South Asian panel.