IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/prg/jnlpep/v2007y2007i3id305p195-219.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Real and Nominal Convergence and the New EU Member States - Actual State and Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Václav Žďárek
  • Jaromír Šindel

Abstract

This paper analyses the process of nominal and real convergence of the new Member States of the European Union. It also discusses theoretical and methodological issues relating to this process. The importance of nominal and real convergence is underlined in connection with a successful catching-up. The EU-10 economies experienced robust economic growth in recent years, which had a positive impact on the convergence process. Although this favourable development of real convergence (GDP per capita in PPS) is accompanied by a simultaneous price (nominal) convergence (changes in relative prices and a convergence of price levels), the comparative price level is still biased towards lower level in comparison with the per capita income.

Suggested Citation

  • Václav Žďárek & Jaromír Šindel, 2007. "Real and Nominal Convergence and the New EU Member States - Actual State and Implications," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2007(3), pages 195-219.
  • Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlpep:v:2007:y:2007:i:3:id:305:p:195-219
    DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://pep.vse.cz/doi/10.18267/j.pep.305.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge

    File URL: http://pep.vse.cz/doi/10.18267/j.pep.305.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.18267/j.pep.305?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kenneth Rogoff, 1996. "The Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 647-668, June.
    2. Kocenda, Evzen & Kutan, Ali M. & Yigit, Taner M., 2006. "Pilgrims to the Eurozone: How far, how fast?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 311-327, December.
    3. Balázs Égert, 2005. "The Balassa‐Samuelson Hypothesis in Estonia: Oil Shale, Tradable Goods, Regulated Prices and Other Culprits," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 259-286, February.
    4. Galor, Oded, 1996. "Convergence? Inferences from Theoretical Models," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1056-1069, July.
    5. Ms. Piritta Sorsa, 2006. "Macroeconomic Challenges with EU Accession in Southeastern Europe: An Overview," IMF Working Papers 2006/040, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Dubravko Mihaljek & Marc Klau, 2003. "The Balassa-Samuelson effect in central Europe: a disaggregated analysis," BIS Working Papers 143, Bank for International Settlements.
    7. Matthew B. Canzoneri & Behzad Diba & Gwen Eudey, 1996. "Trends in European Productivity and Real Exchange Rates," Working Papers 9610, Banco de España.
    8. Philipp Rother & Ralph Süppel, 2003. "East Germany, Central Europe, and the Risk of Real Convergence Overshooting," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 53(9-10), pages 374-393, September.
    9. repec:bil:bilpap:0501 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Anne-Marie Brook, 2005. "The Challenges of EMU Accession Faced by Catching-up Countries: A Slovak Republic Case Study," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 444, OECD Publishing.
    11. Canzoneri, Matthew B & Diba, Behzad & Fudey, Gwen, 1996. "Trends in European Productivity and Real Exchange Rates: Implications for the Maastricht Convergence Criteria and for Inflation Targets after EMU," CEPR Discussion Papers 1417, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Balázs Égert, 2007. "Real Convergence, Price Level Convergence and Inflation in Europe," Working Papers 267, Bruegel.
    13. György Szapáry, 2000. "Maastricht and the Choice of Exchange Rate Regime in Transition Countries During The Run-Up to EMU," MNB Working Papers 2000/7, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary).
    14. Lojschová, Adriana, 2003. "Estimating the Impact of the Balassa-Samuelson Effect in Transition Economies," Economics Series 140, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    15. Bela Balassa, 1964. "The Purchasing-Power Parity Doctrine: A Reappraisal," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(6), pages 584-584.
    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. Iulia Andreea BUCUR & Oana Ancuta STANGACIU, 2015. "The European Union Convergence In Terms Of Economic And Human Development," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 7(2), pages 256-275, August.
    2. Elena Mădălina OPRIȚESCU, 2017. "Econometric Assessment of the Degree of Economic Convergence between Member States of the European Union," Finante - provocarile viitorului (Finance - Challenges of the Future), University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 1(19), pages 136-144, November.

    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. Václav Žďárek, 2009. "Challenges for the new EU member states on the road to the Eurozone," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 157-177, July.
    2. Égert, Balázs, 2004. "Assessing equilibrium exchange rates in CEE acceding countries: can we have DEER with BEER without FEER? A critical survey of the literature," BOFIT Discussion Papers 1/2004, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    3. repec:zbw:bofitp:2004_001 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Robert J. Sonora & Josip Tica, 2014. "Harrod, Balassa, and Samuelson (re)visit Eastern Europe," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Balázs Égert & László Halpern & Ronald MacDonald, 2006. "Equilibrium Exchange Rates in Transition Economies: Taking Stock of the Issues," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 257-324, April.
    6. Lein, Sarah M. & León-Ledesma, Miguel A. & Nerlich, Carolin, 2008. "How is real convergence driving nominal convergence in the new EU Member States?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 227-248, March.
    7. Camba-Méndez, Gonzalo & Garcí­a, Juan Angel & Rodriguez-Palenzuela, Diego, 2003. "Relevant economic issues concerning the optimal rate of inflation," Working Paper Series 278, European Central Bank.
    8. Gaetano D’Adamo, 2014. "Wage spillovers across sectors in Eastern Europe," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 523-552, September.
    9. Matthew Canzoneri & Robert Cumby & Behzad Diba & Gwen Eudey, 1998. "Trends in European Productivity: Implications for Real Exchange Rates, Real Interest Rates and Inflation Differentials," Working Papers 27, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    10. Annie Tubadji & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Revisiting the Balassa–Samuelson effect: International tourism and cultural proximity," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(8), pages 915-944, December.
    11. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:27:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Christian Dreger & Konstantin Kholodilin & Kirsten Lommatzsch & JiÅí SlaÄálek & Przemyslaw Wozniak, 2008. "Price Convergence in an Enlarged Internal Market," Eastern European Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(5), pages 57-68, September.
    13. MacDonald, Ronald & Wójcik, Cezary, 2008. "Catching-up and inflation differentials in a heterogeneous monetary union: Some implications for the euro area and new EU Member States," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 4-16, March.
    14. García Solanes José, 2008. "Real Exchange Rate Appreciation in Central and Eastern European Countries. Why the Balassa-Samuelson Effect Does Not Explain the Whole Story," Working Papers 2010100, Fundacion BBVA / BBVA Foundation.
    15. Josip Tica, 2006. "Exchange Rate Economics in Transition Economies," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 9(2), pages 155-170, November.
    16. Ronald MacDonald & Cezary Wójcik, 2006. "Catching-up, Inflation Differentials and Credit Booms in a Heterogeneous Monetary Union: Some Implications for EMU and new EU Member States," CESifo Working Paper Series 1761, CESifo.
    17. Ronald MacDonald, 2000. "The role of the exchange rate in economic growth: a euro-zone perspective," Working Paper Research 09, National Bank of Belgium.
    18. García Solanes, José & Torrejón-Flores, Fernando, 2009. "The Balassa-Samuelson Hypothesis in Developed Countries and Emerging Market Economies: Different Outcomes Explained," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 3, pages 1-24.
    19. Lafrance, Robert & St-Amant, Pierre, 2000. "Les zones monétaires optimales," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 76(4), pages 577-612, décembre.
    20. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:61:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. repec:onb:oenbwp:y::i:106:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Kowalski, Tadeusz & Kowalski, Pawel & Wihlborg, Clas, 2007. "Poland. The EMU entry strategy vs. the monetary issues," MPRA Paper 42599, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2007.
    23. Peter Backé & Jarko Fidrmuc & Thomas Reininger & Franz Schardax, 2002. "Price Dynamics in Central and Eastern European EU Accession," Working Papers 61, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    24. Veronika Tengely, 2020. "In Search of the Lost Balassa–Samuelson Effect – The Changing Role of Services in the 21st Century," Financial and Economic Review, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary), vol. 19(2), pages 5-27.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    competitiveness; nominal and real convergence; Balassa-Samuelson effect; relative price level;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    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:prg:jnlpep:v:2007:y:2007:i:3:id:305:p:195-219. 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: Stanislav Vojir (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/uevsecz.html .

    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.