Dzenita Siljak - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Dzenita Siljak

Research paper thumbnail of Patterns of the Western Balkans' convergence toward the EU since 2004

Regional statistics, Dec 31, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Wind of Change between War and Peace?

KKI Elemzések

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) held presidential and parliamentary elections on 2 October 2022, ami... more Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) held presidential and parliamentary elections on 2 October 2022, amid the most severe political crisis since the 1992-1995 war. Inefficient institutions and problems created by political leaders led the country to the bottom of economic and political statistics in Europe. While citizens were hoping for a change, it did not come as the nationalist parties won the majority again. The change of the election law imposed by the High Representative during the election night did not bring much hope either. The country is still stuck in its nationalist rhetoric and the lack of dialogue among the decisionmakers. It is difficult to see how the newly elected political leaders will be the ones finally taking responsibility for bringing change.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of the Introduction of the Euro in Croatia

KKI Elemzések

Croatia, the newest member of the European Union, is set to introduce the euro as its currency in... more Croatia, the newest member of the European Union, is set to introduce the euro as its currency in January 2023. Although it was announced that Croatia had fulfilled the Maastricht criteria for monetary union membership in May 2022, the country did not meet the criterion on the general government debt rate. This paper analyses Croatia’s readiness to join the euro area beyond meeting the Maastricht criteria. While monetary union membership has its positive sides, by joining, a country loses one of the most important tools of managing its economy – monetary policy. If the economy is strong and competitive enough, with efficient institutions and stable fiscal policy, the loss of monetary policy can be mitigated. However, Croatia’s decision to join the euro area is hasty, as if the country just wanted to join a prestigious club. This lack of preparedness could have major negative effects on one of the least competitive economies in the EU.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Institutions on the Transition of the Western Balkans

KKI Elemzések

The Western Balkan countries have been lagging behind in their transition process, which started ... more The Western Balkan countries have been lagging behind in their transition process, which started more than 30 years ago. While some justification can be made in the fact that the countries went through wars in the 1990s, the real problem is that they have not been able to create efficient institutions. Inefficient institutions hamper economic growth, as the countries do not attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the extent they could and should. A lack of FDI affects three aspects of the transition process in the region: developing a functioning market economy, competitiveness, and convergence. Improvements in these areas can only be done by building efficient institutions.

Research paper thumbnail of Institutions and integration (im)maturity: The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Society and Economy

In this paper, we analyze the integration maturity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on its path to... more In this paper, we analyze the integration maturity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on its path towards EU membership and the role of institutions in the process. Integration maturity focuses on five main parameters for readiness to make integration successful: macroeconomic stability, functioning market economy, competitiveness, access to foreign finance and convergence. We combine a discussion of BiH's readiness on these parameters with insights from institutional economics, and show how inefficient institutions are major obstacles to BiH achieving sustained economic growth and attaining the necessary integration maturity. The main reasons for the institutional deficiencies relate to BiH being an ethnically divided country, but just as much it reflects corruption and elite capture of institutions. Only by thoroughly rethinking and reforming its institutional framework will Bosnia and Herzegovina be able to move forward.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of the Crisis on Convergence between the Eastern Partnership and EU-15 States

Economic Studies journal, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Is the European Union still a convergence machine?

Acta Oeconomica, 2022

We investigate whether the European Union can be considered as a convergence machine after the 20... more We investigate whether the European Union can be considered as a convergence machine after the 2008/2009 financial crisis. To do so, we econometrically test the relationship between the per capita GDP growth rate and macroeconomic variables in the period of 2004–2018, further subdivided into three periods: 2004–2008, 2009–2013 and 2014–2018. We hypothesize that the 2008/2009 financial crisis had a negative effect on the σ and β-convergence process. Our results support the convergence hypothesis, namely that the poor countries tend to grow faster than the rich countries. The convergence rates ranged between 1.71% and 4.51%. The negative effects of the crisis on convergence have been identified only for the absolute convergence. Our findings demonstrate that economic openness, inflation and government integrity have a positive impact on growth. The effects of unemployment have not been identified.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Monetary Union Membership Affect Convergence in the European Union?

DANUBE, 2021

The objective of the article is to investigate the effects of the stage of integration on converg... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Economic Convergence between the Western Balkans and the New EU Member States ( EU-13 )

2: The aim of the paper is to investigate if the Western Balkan countries converge towards the ne... more 2: 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 ma...

Research paper thumbnail of Real Economic Convergence in Western Europe from 1995 to 2013

International Journal of Business & Economic Development, 2016

The aim of the paper is to analyze the economic convergence of real per capita GDP in the Western... more 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 p...

Research paper thumbnail of Economic convergence of the Eastern Partnership countries towards the EU-13

Eastern Journal of European Studies, 2018

The aim of the paper is to analyse if the Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the new ... more 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 conve...

Research paper thumbnail of Convergencia económica de los Balcanes Occidentales hacia la ue-15

Revista Finanzas y política económica, 2019

This paper aims to analyze the beta convergence of Western Balkan countries towards the EU-15 Mem... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Do Transition Countries Converge towards the European Union?

Baltic Journal of European Studies, 2019

The aim of this paper is to analyze if the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries conve... more 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 an...

Research paper thumbnail of Beta Convergence among Former Socialist Countries

South East European Journal of Economics and Business, 2018

The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the... more The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the Central and Eastern European (CEE), Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made to test if the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only the absolute convergence process. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment, as gross fixed capital formation has a clear positive impact on per capita growth in the examined sample of countries.

Research paper thumbnail of Income Inequality in Today’s Cuba - Field Research on the Cuban People’s Quality of Life and Income Structure

Epiphany, Jul 22, 2022

Cuba has been a significant player in international and regional politics for a long while, parti... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Convergence and Transition of the Eastern Partnership Countries towards the European Union

Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 2019

The process of economic convergence has been undoubtedly marked by the financial crisis. The pape... more The process of economic convergence has been undoubtedly marked by the financial crisis. The paper focuses on analysis and evaluation of the impact of financial crisis on the real convergence among EU member states. The beta-convergence approach is verified by econometric modelling techniques, namely with the use of cross-sectional linear regression analysis. The next focus is given on the examining of the sigmaconvergence which is tested by standard deviation of real GDP per capita. The aim is to verify the hypothesis that the approach of beta-convergence and the concept of sigma-convergence lead to a different results for the EU member states in the period 2001-2012.

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

Society and Economy, Mar 1, 2018

The aim of the paper is to analyze economic convergence of the Western Balkan countries towards t... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Patterns of the Western Balkans' convergence toward the EU since 2004

Regional statistics, Dec 31, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Wind of Change between War and Peace?

KKI Elemzések

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) held presidential and parliamentary elections on 2 October 2022, ami... more Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) held presidential and parliamentary elections on 2 October 2022, amid the most severe political crisis since the 1992-1995 war. Inefficient institutions and problems created by political leaders led the country to the bottom of economic and political statistics in Europe. While citizens were hoping for a change, it did not come as the nationalist parties won the majority again. The change of the election law imposed by the High Representative during the election night did not bring much hope either. The country is still stuck in its nationalist rhetoric and the lack of dialogue among the decisionmakers. It is difficult to see how the newly elected political leaders will be the ones finally taking responsibility for bringing change.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of the Introduction of the Euro in Croatia

KKI Elemzések

Croatia, the newest member of the European Union, is set to introduce the euro as its currency in... more Croatia, the newest member of the European Union, is set to introduce the euro as its currency in January 2023. Although it was announced that Croatia had fulfilled the Maastricht criteria for monetary union membership in May 2022, the country did not meet the criterion on the general government debt rate. This paper analyses Croatia’s readiness to join the euro area beyond meeting the Maastricht criteria. While monetary union membership has its positive sides, by joining, a country loses one of the most important tools of managing its economy – monetary policy. If the economy is strong and competitive enough, with efficient institutions and stable fiscal policy, the loss of monetary policy can be mitigated. However, Croatia’s decision to join the euro area is hasty, as if the country just wanted to join a prestigious club. This lack of preparedness could have major negative effects on one of the least competitive economies in the EU.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Institutions on the Transition of the Western Balkans

KKI Elemzések

The Western Balkan countries have been lagging behind in their transition process, which started ... more The Western Balkan countries have been lagging behind in their transition process, which started more than 30 years ago. While some justification can be made in the fact that the countries went through wars in the 1990s, the real problem is that they have not been able to create efficient institutions. Inefficient institutions hamper economic growth, as the countries do not attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the extent they could and should. A lack of FDI affects three aspects of the transition process in the region: developing a functioning market economy, competitiveness, and convergence. Improvements in these areas can only be done by building efficient institutions.

Research paper thumbnail of Institutions and integration (im)maturity: The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Society and Economy

In this paper, we analyze the integration maturity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on its path to... more In this paper, we analyze the integration maturity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on its path towards EU membership and the role of institutions in the process. Integration maturity focuses on five main parameters for readiness to make integration successful: macroeconomic stability, functioning market economy, competitiveness, access to foreign finance and convergence. We combine a discussion of BiH's readiness on these parameters with insights from institutional economics, and show how inefficient institutions are major obstacles to BiH achieving sustained economic growth and attaining the necessary integration maturity. The main reasons for the institutional deficiencies relate to BiH being an ethnically divided country, but just as much it reflects corruption and elite capture of institutions. Only by thoroughly rethinking and reforming its institutional framework will Bosnia and Herzegovina be able to move forward.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of the Crisis on Convergence between the Eastern Partnership and EU-15 States

Economic Studies journal, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Is the European Union still a convergence machine?

Acta Oeconomica, 2022

We investigate whether the European Union can be considered as a convergence machine after the 20... more We investigate whether the European Union can be considered as a convergence machine after the 2008/2009 financial crisis. To do so, we econometrically test the relationship between the per capita GDP growth rate and macroeconomic variables in the period of 2004–2018, further subdivided into three periods: 2004–2008, 2009–2013 and 2014–2018. We hypothesize that the 2008/2009 financial crisis had a negative effect on the σ and β-convergence process. Our results support the convergence hypothesis, namely that the poor countries tend to grow faster than the rich countries. The convergence rates ranged between 1.71% and 4.51%. The negative effects of the crisis on convergence have been identified only for the absolute convergence. Our findings demonstrate that economic openness, inflation and government integrity have a positive impact on growth. The effects of unemployment have not been identified.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Monetary Union Membership Affect Convergence in the European Union?

DANUBE, 2021

The objective of the article is to investigate the effects of the stage of integration on converg... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Economic Convergence between the Western Balkans and the New EU Member States ( EU-13 )

2: The aim of the paper is to investigate if the Western Balkan countries converge towards the ne... more 2: 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 ma...

Research paper thumbnail of Real Economic Convergence in Western Europe from 1995 to 2013

International Journal of Business & Economic Development, 2016

The aim of the paper is to analyze the economic convergence of real per capita GDP in the Western... more 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 p...

Research paper thumbnail of Economic convergence of the Eastern Partnership countries towards the EU-13

Eastern Journal of European Studies, 2018

The aim of the paper is to analyse if the Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the new ... more 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 conve...

Research paper thumbnail of Convergencia económica de los Balcanes Occidentales hacia la ue-15

Revista Finanzas y política económica, 2019

This paper aims to analyze the beta convergence of Western Balkan countries towards the EU-15 Mem... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Do Transition Countries Converge towards the European Union?

Baltic Journal of European Studies, 2019

The aim of this paper is to analyze if the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries conve... more 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 an...

Research paper thumbnail of Beta Convergence among Former Socialist Countries

South East European Journal of Economics and Business, 2018

The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the... more The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the Central and Eastern European (CEE), Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made to test if the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only the absolute convergence process. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment, as gross fixed capital formation has a clear positive impact on per capita growth in the examined sample of countries.

Research paper thumbnail of Income Inequality in Today’s Cuba - Field Research on the Cuban People’s Quality of Life and Income Structure

Epiphany, Jul 22, 2022

Cuba has been a significant player in international and regional politics for a long while, parti... more 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.

Research paper thumbnail of Convergence and Transition of the Eastern Partnership Countries towards the European Union

Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 2019

The process of economic convergence has been undoubtedly marked by the financial crisis. The pape... more The process of economic convergence has been undoubtedly marked by the financial crisis. The paper focuses on analysis and evaluation of the impact of financial crisis on the real convergence among EU member states. The beta-convergence approach is verified by econometric modelling techniques, namely with the use of cross-sectional linear regression analysis. The next focus is given on the examining of the sigmaconvergence which is tested by standard deviation of real GDP per capita. The aim is to verify the hypothesis that the approach of beta-convergence and the concept of sigma-convergence lead to a different results for the EU member states in the period 2001-2012.

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

Society and Economy, Mar 1, 2018

The aim of the paper is to analyze economic convergence of the Western Balkan countries towards t... more 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.