Konvergens i Europa : En studie om ekonomiskt närmande och Europeiska unionens roll i processen

Sammanfattning: A debated economic question is whether a less developed country tend to grow faster than, and therefor converge to, a more developed economy. Another question is how economic integration effects a country's growth. There are studies that examines convergence and economic integration separately, but to our knowledge no studies address the two phenomenon simultaneously. We use the theories of convergence and economic integration as a framework to investigate how Lithuania, Macedonia and an average EU/OECD-country are affected. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the hypothesis of convergence occur among chosen countries as well as examine if an accession to the European union generates growth. Studies have on the one hand presented a negative relationship between GDP and growth rate, which leads to convergence. On the other hand, divergence has been proven among countries, i.e. the less developed countries have grown more slowly than the more developed ones. Further, studies on economic integration have shown different results. Some researchers have shown that the effect of a membership in a trade union is predominantly positive and generates an increased growth rate, while others have presented the opposite. By regressing GDP on growth rate using an OLS estimate we can confirm the existence of convergence among Lithuania, Macedonia and the comparison country. Further, by using a DID-estimation, we can prove that Lithuania, after the accession to the European union, has had a lower growth rate, although a continuing convergence.