This paper reviews empirical findings on economic growth and convergence, emphasizing the limitations of traditional convergence regressions. It argues that the widely cited 2% convergence rate may not reflect economic growth dynamics but could instead result from statistical properties of unit root processes. The paper highlights that conventional empirical methods, such as cross-section convergence regressions and panel data analysis, may mislead by failing to capture polarization in economic growth. It shows that data, when analyzed more carefully, reveal persistence and immobility across countries, with evidence of "convergence clubs" where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The paper also finds that convergence is observed across U.S. states, though not uniformly. It stresses that convergence empirics should be interpreted in the context of income distribution dynamics, regional inequality, and capital flows, rather than just growth theories. The paper concludes that convergence is a complex phenomenon that requires more nuanced analysis than traditionally assumed.This paper reviews empirical findings on economic growth and convergence, emphasizing the limitations of traditional convergence regressions. It argues that the widely cited 2% convergence rate may not reflect economic growth dynamics but could instead result from statistical properties of unit root processes. The paper highlights that conventional empirical methods, such as cross-section convergence regressions and panel data analysis, may mislead by failing to capture polarization in economic growth. It shows that data, when analyzed more carefully, reveal persistence and immobility across countries, with evidence of "convergence clubs" where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The paper also finds that convergence is observed across U.S. states, though not uniformly. It stresses that convergence empirics should be interpreted in the context of income distribution dynamics, regional inequality, and capital flows, rather than just growth theories. The paper concludes that convergence is a complex phenomenon that requires more nuanced analysis than traditionally assumed.