This paper investigates the convergence hypothesis for per capita CO2 emissions with a panel of 166 world areas covering the period 1960–2002. The analysis is based on the evolution of the spatial distributions over time. Robust measures of dispersion, asymmetry, peakedness and two nonparametric distributional tests – shape equality and multimodality – are used to assess spatial time differences. A robust normal reference bandwidth is also applied to estimate Markov’s transition laws and its subsequent ergodic (long-run) distributions. Our results point toward non-stationary, flattening and right-skewed spatial distributions before the oil price shocks of the 1970s and more stable and symmetric shapes between 1980 and 2000 at the world [...]
