IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ers/journl/vxviiiy2015i2p79-96.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating Social Protection Convergence in the EU-15: A Panel Data Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Athanasios Athanasenas
  • Xanthippi Chapsa
  • Athanasios Michailidis

Abstract

The scientific investigation goal of this paper is to analyze the convergence of social protection indexes within the EU-15 member states. More specifically, we employ a panel data analysis, testing certain hypotheses of welfare convergence upon the 15 EU Member States, for the years 1990 to 2009, by considering three specific factors. GDP growth rate is used first as a proxy for the financial capacity of the system, while unemployment provides, next, a broader picture of the demand for social security benefits. Finally, the dependency ratio is used as a proxy of the countries’ socio-demographic characteristics. Moreover, certain other exogenous factors reflecting economic integration are considered also. Panel data estimations confirm the existence of conditional β-convergence of social expenditure in EU-15 countries, with unemployment, dependency ratio and GDP growth having a significant impact upon the growth of social protection expenditure. With respect to specific external factors, the existing evidence is less clear.

Suggested Citation

  • Athanasios Athanasenas & Xanthippi Chapsa & Athanasios Michailidis, 2015. "Investigating Social Protection Convergence in the EU-15: A Panel Data Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 79-96.
    • Handle: RePEc:ers:journl:v:xviii:y:2015:i:2:p:79-96
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ersj.eu/repec/ers/papers/15_2_p4.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X, 1996. "The Classical Approach to Convergence Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1019-1036, July.
    2. Koen Caminada & Kees Goudswaard & Olaf Van Vliet, 2010. "Patterns of Welfare State Indicators in the EU: Is there Convergence?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 529-556, June.
    3. repec:zbw:bofitp:2001_013 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X., 1996. "Regional cohesion: Evidence and theories of regional growth and convergence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1325-1352, June.
    5. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    6. Andrea Bassanini & Stefano Scarpetta & Philip Hemmings, 2001. "Economic Growth: The Role of Policies and Institutions: Panel Data. Evidence from OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 283, OECD Publishing.
    7. Magdalena Morgese Borys & Éva Katalin Polgár & Andrei Zlate, 2008. "Real convergence and the determinants of growth in EU candidate and potential candidate countries - a panel data approach," Occasional Paper Series 86, European Central Bank.
    8. Frees,Edward W., 2004. "Longitudinal and Panel Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521535380, January.
    9. Bernard, Andrew B. & Durlauf, Steven N., 1996. "Interpreting tests of the convergence hypothesis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1-2), pages 161-173.
    10. repec:bla:scotjp:v:49:y:2002:i:1:p:116-27 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:48:y:2010:i::p:529-556 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Morgese Borys, Magdalena & Polgár, Éva Katalin & Zlate, Andrei, 2008. "Real convergence and the determinants of growth in EU candidate and potential candidate countries: a panel data approach," Occasional Paper Series 86, European Central Bank.
    13. Javier Alonso & Miguel-Angel Galindo & Simon Sosvilla-Rivero, 1998. "Convergence in social protection benefits across EU countries," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 153-155.
    14. Grier, Kevin B. & Tullock, Gordon, 1989. "An empirical analysis of cross-national economic growth, 1951-1980," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 259-276, September.
    15. Frees,Edward W., 2004. "Longitudinal and Panel Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521828284, January.
    16. Jesus Crespo Cuaresma & Doris Ritzberger-Grunwald & Maria Antoinette Silgoner, 2008. "Growth, convergence and EU membership," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 643-656.
    17. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    18. Monica Raileanu Szeles & Nicolae Marinescu, 2010. "Real convergence in the CEECs, euro area accession and the role of Romania," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 7(1), pages 181-202, June.
    19. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    20. Caselli, Francesco & Esquivel, Gerardo & Lefort, Fernando, 1996. "Reopening the Convergence Debate: A New Look at Cross-Country Growth Empirics," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 363-389, September.
    21. Andrea Bassanini & Stefano Scarpetta, 2003. "The Driving Forces of Economic Growth: Panel Data Evidence for the OECD Countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2001(2), pages 9-56.
    22. Bernard, Andrew B & Durlauf, Steven N, 1995. "Convergence in International Output," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(2), pages 97-108, April-Jun.
    23. Konstantinos Liapis & Antonios Rovolis & Christos Galanos & Eleftherios Thalassinos, 2013. "The Clusters of Economic Similarities between EU Countries: A View Under Recent Financial and Debt Crisis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 41-66.
    24. Nicole Attia & Valérie Berenger, 2007. "Social Protection Convergence in the European Union: Impact of Maastricht Treaty," Post-Print halshs-00727177, HAL.
    25. Luisa Corrado & David A. Londo–o B. & Francesco S. Mennini & Giovanni Trovato, 2003. "The Welfare States in a United Europe," European Political Economy Review, European Political Economy Infrastructure Consortium, vol. 1(Spring), pages 40-55.
    26. Paetzold, Jörg, 2012. "The Convergence of Welfare State Indicators in Europe: Evidence from Panel Data," Working Papers in Economics 2012-4, University of Salzburg.
    27. Nicole Attia & Valérie Berenger, 2007. "Social Protection Convergence in the European Union: Impact of Maastricht Treaty," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 54(4), pages 469-487, December.
    28. Nazrul Islam, 1995. "Growth Empirics: A Panel Data Approach," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 1127-1170.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Theodore Katsanevas, 2016. "Currency Wars, Recession Policies and the Overvalued Euro are to be Blamed for the Modern Greek Tragedy," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 3-19.
    2. Constantinos Katrakilidis & George Konteos & Nikolaos Sariannidis & Chrysi Manolidou, 2017. "Investigation of Convergence in the Tourist Markets of Greece," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4A), pages 707-729.
    3. N.V. Petrasheva & S.I. Ulezko & A.V. Yakovlev & A.L. Klochkova, 2017. "Economic Crime and Problem of Complicity Understanding," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 208-214.
    4. Grigory Viktorovich Prytkov & Natalia Yurievna Tsvetus & Artem Alexandrovich Balyakin & Andrey Sergeevich Malyshev & Sergey Borisovich Taranenko, 2017. "Scientific Cooperation between Russia and the EU in the Development and Use of Large Research Infrastructure," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3A), pages 338-353.
    5. O.B. Ivanova & T.F. Romanova & E.D. Kostoglodova & D.G. Romanov, 2017. "Strategic Directions of the Country's Ensuring Financial Security," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3B), pages 461-468.
    6. Svetlana Gurieva & Irina Kuznetsova & Ekaterina Yumkina & Sergey Manichev & Elena Sidorenko, 2017. "Emotional Intelligence and Behavior Styles of Russian Middle Managers in Business Communication," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4B), pages 679-693.
    7. E.S. Akopova & N.V. Przhedetskaya & P.V. Taranov & E.A. Israilova, 2017. "Marketing Aspects of Russia-The European Union Cooperation in the Field of Education," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 267-275.
    8. Alexander M. Zobov & Ekaterina A. Degtereva & Veronica Yu. Chernova & Vasily S. Starostin, 2017. "Comparative Analysis of the Best Practices in the Economic Policy of Import Substitution," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2A), pages 507-520.
    9. Larisa Bule & Liga Leitane, 2017. "Contribution of Private Fund Managers to the Accumulation of Pension Capital of the Second Tier of Latvian Pension System in 2012-2016," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3A), pages 624-634.
    10. Iuliia Platonova & Maksim Tcvetkov & Olga Chkalova & Marina Efremova, 2017. "The Mechanism of CSR Beliefs Dissemination: From Idea to Institution or Vice Versa," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2A), pages 65-89.
    11. L.Yu. Andreeva & O.Yu. Sviridov, 2017. "Experience of Greece on Recapitalization of Banks, Marketing Management and Personnel Retraining in Conditions of Economic Recession," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 390-409.
    12. Noemi Pena-Miguel & Javier Corral-Lage & J. Inaki De La Pena Esteban & University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 2017. "A First Approach to a Public Financial Information System for Social Benefits," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2A), pages 109-127.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xanthippi Chapsa & Athanasios L. Athanasenas & Nikolaos Tabakis, 2019. "Real Convergence in EU-15: A Comparative Analysis of North versus South Europe," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 3-21.
    2. E. Tsanana & X. Chapsa & C. Katrakilidis, 2016. "Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3131-3147, July.
    3. Andrea Bassanini & Stefano Scarpetta, 2003. "The Driving Forces of Economic Growth: Panel Data Evidence for the OECD Countries," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2001(2), pages 9-56.
    4. Uzma Zia, 2019. "An Evidence of Diverging SAARC Economies," PIDE-Working Papers 2019:170, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    5. Durlauf, Steven N. & Quah, Danny T., 1999. "The new empirics of economic growth," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 4, pages 235-308, Elsevier.
    6. Cem Ertur & Julie Le Gallo & Catherine Baumont, 2006. "The European Regional Convergence Process, 1980-1995: Do Spatial Regimes and Spatial Dependence Matter?," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 29(1), pages 3-34, January.
    7. Stephen Dobson & Carlyn Ramlogan & Eric Strobl, 2006. "Why Do Rates Of Β‐Convergence Differ? A Meta‐Regression Analysis," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 53(2), pages 153-173, May.
    8. Yingqi Wei & Xiaming Liu & Haiyan Song & Peter Romilly, 2001. "Endogenous innovation growth theory and regional income convergence in China," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(2), pages 153-168.
    9. Sakari Lähdemäki, 2024. "Cross-country convergence: to be or not to be, that is the question," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 839-875, August.
    10. Xanthippi Chapsa & Nikolaos Tabakis & Athanasios L. Athanasenas, 2018. "Investigating the Catching-Up Hypothesis Using Panel Unit Root Tests: Evidence from the PIIGS," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 250-271.
    11. Maciej Stefański, 2020. "To What Extent does Convergence Explain the Slowdown in Potential Growth of the CEE Countries Following the Global Financial Crisis?," KAE Working Papers 2020-058, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    12. Sedat Alataş & Erkam Sarı, 2021. "An Empirical Investigation on Regional Disparities in Public Expenditures: Province Level Evidence from Turkey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 217-240, November.
    13. Huang, Ho-Chuan, 2005. "Diverging evidence of convergence hypothesis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 233-255, June.
    14. Jinzhao Chen, 2015. "Interprovincial Competitiveness and Economic Growth: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Data (1992–2008)," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 388-414, August.
    15. Tang, Pan & Zhang, Ying & Baaquie, Belal E. & Podobnik, Boris, 2016. "Classical convergence versus Zipf rank approach: Evidence from China’s local-level data," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 443(C), pages 246-253.
    16. Zeira, Joseph & di Vaio, Gianfranco & Battisti, Michele, 2013. "Global Divergence in Growth Regressions," CEPR Discussion Papers 9687, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Mushtaq Ahmad Malik & Tariq Masood, 2022. "Dynamics of Output Growth and Convergence in the Middle East and North African Countries: Heterogeneous Panel ARDL Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1444-1469, June.
    18. Eleftherios Goulas & Athina Zervoyianni, 2013. "Economic growth and crime: does uncertainty matter?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 420-427, March.
    19. Aparna P Lolayekar & Pranab Mukhopadhyay, 2020. "“Understanding growth convergence in India (1981–2010): Looking beyond the usual suspects”," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Kutub Uddin & Zohurul Anis & Muhammad Jakir Hossain & Zohurul Islam Shamol, 2016. "Examining Convergence in Per Capita Agricultural Production across Selected Asian countries," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(10), pages 178-194, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Welfare-State; Social Protection; European Union; Conditional Convergence; Panel Data Estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ers:journl:v:xviii:y:2015:i:2:p:79-96. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Marios Agiomavritis (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ersj.eu/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.