Convergência econômica dos Bálcãs Ocidentais à UE-15

This paper aims to analyze the beta convergence of Western Balkan countries towards the EU-15 Member States in the period 2004-2016, and two sub-periods: 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. Beta convergence is based on the neoclassical growth theory and tests the hypothesis that poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries, in per capita terms. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis, with convergence rates ranging from 1.1% to 2.3%. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute and conditional convergence process, when economic variables are included. The main limitation of the research is the availability of data.El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la convergencia beta de los países de los Balcanes Occidentales hacia los Estados miembros de la UE-15 en el periodo 2004-2016 y dos subperiodos: 2004-2008 y 2009-2013. La convergencia beta se basa en la teoría del crecimiento neoclásico y pone a prueba la hipótesis de que los países pobres tienden a crecer más rápido que los países ricos, en términos per cápita. Los hallazgos empíricos apoyan la hipótesis de convergencia económica, con tasas de convergencia que van del 1.1% al 2.3%. Los resultados muestran que la reciente crisis financiera afectó negativamente el proceso de convergencia absoluta y condicional, cuando se incluyen variables económicas. La principal limitación de la investigación es la disponibilidad de datos.O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a convergência beta dos países dos Bálcãs Ocidentais aos Estados-membros da UE-15 no período de 2004-2016, e dois subperíodos: 2004-2008 e 2009-2013. A convergência beta está baseada na teoria do crescimento neoclássico e coloca à prova a hipótese de que os países pobres tendem a crescer mais rápido do que os ricos, em termos per capita. Os achados empíricos apoiam a hipótese de convergência econômica, com taxas de convergência que vão de 1,1% a 2,3%. Os resultados demonstram que a recente crise financeira afetou negativamente o processo de convergência absoluta e condicional, quando são incluídas variáveis econômicas. A principal limitação desta pesquisa se encontra na disponibilidade de acesso aos dados

The effects of the crisis on the convergence process of the Western Balkan countries towards the European Union

The aim of the paper is to analyze economic convergence of the Western Balkan countries towards the European Union member states with two types of measurement methodology, sigma and beta convergence. Sigma convergence measures the dispersion of real per capita GDP among the countries and beta convergence is based on the neoclassical growth theory. The main hypothesis of the paper is that the recent financial crisis has negatively affected the convergence process of the Western Balkan countries towards the twenty-eight member states of the European Union (EU-28). The relationship between selected macroeconomic variables and the rate of per capita GDP growth are econometrically tested. Sigma and beta convergence are estimated for the period 2004-2013 and two sub-periods: 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The empirical findings support the hypothesis of economic convergence. The negative effects of the crisis on per capita GDP growth are confirmed, resulting in a slower convergence process. Dissimilarities between the growth patterns of the analyzed groups show the considerable heterogeneity of growth, i.e. the convergence clubs

Economic convergence of the Eastern Partnership countries towards the EU-13

The aim of the paper is to analyse if the Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the new Member States of the European Union, the EU-13. Beta convergence, which is based on the neoclassical growth theory, tests the hypothesis that poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries, in per capita terms. The analysed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods: 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made in order to test the research hypotheses. The first hypothesis is that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute convergence process among the analysed countries. The second hypothesis is that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the conditional convergence process among the countries. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis, and the convergence rates range 1.6%-3.8%. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only absolute convergence. Negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not confirmed

INCOME INEQUALITY IN TODAY’S CUBA - FIELD RESEARCH ON THE CUBAN PEOPLE’S QUALITY OF LIFE AND INCOME STRUCTURE

Cuba has been a significant player in international and regional politics for a long while, particularly compared to its size. However, reliable data on the standard of living of its society is scarce. The literature review reflects how the Cuban state manipulated certain data forwarded to international organisations. Our objective was to implement field research and gain primary data on Cubans’ quality of life and income structure that could help to identify the extent of income inequality among the different demographic clusters in the country. We used individual questionnaires, as well as descriptive, frequency and inferential statistics. The results show varying income inequalities among the different demographic clusters and a “perverse effect” in income distribution, leading to the formation of a “parasite” stratum in Cuban society

Does Monetary Union Membership Affect Convergence in the European Union?

The objective of the article is to investigate the effects of the stage of integration on convergence in the European Union. The relationships between the selected macro-economic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested for the period 2004–2018 and three sub-periods: the pre-crisis period 2004–2008, the crisis period 2009–2013, and the post-crisis period 2014–2018. Convergence is estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) semi-log regression based on cross-sectional data. The findings show that convergence rates range between 1.9 percent and 4.8 percent. The positive effects of deeper integration are identified, as well as the negative effects of the 2008/2009 crisis. The empirical results suggest that the selected variables have an impact on the per capita GDP growth rate in at least one analyzed period

Economic Convergence between the Western Balkans and the New EU Member States (EU-13)

The aim of the paper is to investigate if the Western Balkan countries converge towards the new Member States of the European Union, the EU-13. The analysis is focused on beta convergence, defined as a tendency of poor countries to grow faster than rich countries. The analysed period is 2004-2017, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made in order to test the research hypotheses that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute and conditional convergence process of the Western Balkans towards the EU-13. The relationships between per capita GDP growth rate and selected macroeconomic variables are econometrically tested and the empirical results support the convergence hypothesis. The convergence rates range 1.3%-3.6%. The negative effects of the crisis on convergence are not confirmed, i.e., the convergence rates during the crisis period are the highest among the analysed periods. The poorer countries should open their economies and maintain stable inflation and debt, as economic openness and inflation have a positive impact on per capita growth in the analysed countries, while general government debt has a negative impact

Real Economic Convergence in Western Europe from 1995 to 2013

The aim of the paper is to analyze the economic convergence of real per capita GDP in the Western European countries with two types of measurement methodology. The first is sigma convergence, based on the coefficient of variation of real per capita GDP. The second is beta convergence, absolute/unconditional and conditional, including economic and socio-political variables, based on the neoclassical growth theory. The hypothesis of the paper is that there has been real economic convergence in Western Europe in at least one analyzed sub-period. The relationships between selected macroeconomic variables and the rate of economic growth are econometrically tested. Both sigma and beta convergence are estimated for the period 1995-2013 and four sub-periods: 1995-2003, 2004-2013, pre-crisis sub-period 2004-2008 and the crisis sub-period 2009-2013. The empirical findings support the hypothesis of economic convergence, i.e. that the poorer countries tend to grow faster than the rich ones in per capita terms, for some periods. However, the countries had a tendency to diverge, confiriming the negative effects of the crisis on per capita GDP growth. Sigma convergence is consistent with beta convergence. According to the results, the half-life of real convergence may take from 12 to 1078 years. Significant dissimilarities between the growth patterns among individual countries show the considerable heterogeneity of growth, i.e. the convergence clubs

Do Transition Countries Converge towards the European Union?

The aim of this paper is to analyze if the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the twenty-eight members of the European Union. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004–2017, with two sub-periods: 2004–2008 and 2009–2013. The subdivision is made to test whether the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process in the analyzed group of countries. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute and conditional convergence process, when economic variables are included in the analysis. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence with economic and socio-political variables are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment and open their economies, as gross fixed capital formation and economic openness have a positive impact on per capita growth, and keep low inflation or stabilize it, while general government debt and unemployment should be decreased in the examined sample of countries

Economic convergence of the Western Balkans towards the EU-15

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la convergencia beta de los países de los Balcanes Occidentales hacia los Estados miembros de la UE-15 en el periodo 2004-2016 y dos subperiodos: 2004-2008 y 2009-2013. La convergencia beta se basa en la teoría del crecimiento neoclásico y pone a prueba la hipótesis de que los países pobres tienden a crecer más rápido que los países ricos, en términos per cápita. Los hallazgos empíricos apoyan la hipótesis de convergencia económica, con tasas de convergencia que van del 1.1% al 2.3%. Los resultados muestran que la reciente crisis financiera afectó negativamente el proceso de convergencia absoluta y condicional, cuando se incluyen variables económicas. La principal limitación de la investigación es la disponibilidad de datos