IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/reoecp/v16y2016i4p279-296n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

GDP growth and convergence determinants in the European Union: a crisp-set analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Ferreira Paulo

    (CEFAGE-UE, IIFA, Universidade de Évora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7000 Évora, Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas, Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, Portugal)

  • Dionísio Andreia

    (CEFAGE-UE, IIFA, Universidade de Évora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7000 Évora, Portugal)

Abstract

Economic growth and convergence remains a topical issue. This study uses a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis of data from European Union countries in order to establish which conditions could be considered necessary and sufficient to make these countries converge. Based on six different conditions (GDP, secondary education, life expectancy, fertility rate, government consumption and inflation rate), this study finds that the main conditions affecting convergence are government consumption ratio (lower levels will increase convergence), education levels and life expectancy (both with a positive influence on convergence). The first two conditions show quite interesting results: in fact, reduction of government expenditure and budget constraints are an open debate; and the European Union’s aim to become a more competitive economy can only be attained with higher levels of education.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferreira Paulo & Dionísio Andreia, 2016. "GDP growth and convergence determinants in the European Union: a crisp-set analysis," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 16(4), pages 279-296, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:reoecp:v:16:y:2016:i:4:p:279-296:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/revecp-2016-0017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/revecp-2016-0017
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/revecp-2016-0017?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ann Owen & Julio Videras & Lewis Davis, 2009. "Do all countries follow the same growth process?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 265-286, December.
    2. Robert J. Barro, 1998. "Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262522543, December.
    3. Quah, Danny T, 1996. "Twin Peaks: Growth and Convergence in Models of Distribution Dynamics," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1045-1055, July.
    4. Bartkowska, Monika & Riedl, Aleksandra, 2012. "Regional convergence clubs in Europe: Identification and conditioning factors," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 22-31.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    6. Josep Lluis Carrion-I-Silvestre & Vicente German-Soto, 2007. "Stochastic Convergence amongst Mexican States," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 531-541.
    7. Strazicich, Mark C. & Lee, Junsoo & Day, Edward, 2004. "Are incomes converging among OECD countries? Time series evidence with two structural breaks," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 131-145, March.
    8. Steven N. Durlauf & Andros Kourtellos & Chih Ming Tan, 2008. "Are Any Growth Theories Robust?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(527), pages 329-346, March.
    9. Walheer, Barnabé, 2016. "Growth and convergence of the OECD countries: A multi-sector production-frontier approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 252(2), pages 665-675.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt & David Mayer-Foulkes, 2005. "The Effect of Financial Development on Convergence: Theory and Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(1), pages 173-222.
    13. Théophile T. Azomahou & Raouf Boucekkine & Bity Diene, 2009. "A closer look at the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 5(2), pages 201-244, June.
    14. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1991. "Convergence across States and Regions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 107-182.
    15. Quah, Danny, 1997. "Empirics for Growth and Distribution: Stratification, Polarization, and Convergence Clubs," CEPR Discussion Papers 1586, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Jesús Crespo Cuaresma & Gernot Doppelhofer & Martin Feldkircher, 2014. "The Determinants of Economic Growth in European Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 44-67, January.
    17. Robert J. Barro, 2016. "Economic Growth and Convergence, Applied Especially to China," NBER Working Papers 21872, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Michele Battisti & Gianfranco Vaio, 2009. "A spatially filtered mixture of β-convergence regressions for EU regions, 1980–2002," Studies in Empirical Economics, in: Giuseppe Arbia & Badi H. Baltagi (ed.), Spatial Econometrics, pages 105-121, Springer.
    19. Oleg Badunenko & Daniel Henderson & R. Russell, 2013. "Polarization of the worldwide distribution of productivity," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 153-171, October.
    20. Danny Quah, 1996. "Twin Peaks: Growth and Convergence in Models of Distribution Dynamics," CEP Discussion Papers dp0280, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    21. Loewy, Michael B. & Papell, David H., 1996. "Are U.S. regional incomes converging? Some further evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 587-598, December.
    22. Quah, D., 1990. "Galton'S Fallacy And The Tests Of The Convergence Hypothesis," Working papers 552, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    23. Vis, Barbara & Woldendorp, Jaap & Keman, Hans, 2007. "Do miracles exist? Analyzing economic performance comparatively," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 531-538, May.
    24. Quah, Danny, 1996. "Twin peaks : growth and convergence in models of distribution dynamics," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 2278, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    25. Johnson, Paul A., 2005. "A continuous state space approach to "Convergence by Parts"," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 317-321, March.
    26. Xavier Sala-I-Martin & Gernot Doppelhofer & Ronald I. Miller, 2004. "Determinants of Long-Term Growth: A Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 813-835, September.
    27. Subodh Kumar & R. Robert Russell, 2002. "Technological Change, Technological Catch-up, and Capital Deepening: Relative Contributions to Growth and Convergence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 527-548, June.
    28. Brada, Josef C. & Kutan, Ali M. & Zhou, Su, 2005. "Real and monetary convergence between the European Union's core and recent member countries: A rolling cointegration approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 249-270, January.
    29. Daniel J. Henderson & R. Robert Russell, 2005. "Human Capital And Convergence: A Production-Frontier Approach ," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1167-1205, November.
    30. Evans, Paul & Karras, Georgios, 1996. "Convergence revisited," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 249-265, April.
    31. S. Nahar & B. Inder, 2002. "Testing convergence in economic growth for OECD countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(16), pages 2011-2022.
    32. Danny Quah, 1997. "Empirics for Growth and Distribution," CEP Discussion Papers dp0324, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    33. A. Monta & L. Olmos, 2014. "Do the Spanish regions converge? A unit root analysis for the HDI of the Spanish regions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(34), pages 4218-4230, December.
    34. Ragin, Charles C., 2006. "Set Relations in Social Research: Evaluating Their Consistency and Coverage," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 291-310, July.
    35. Baumol, William J, 1986. "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: What the Long-run Data Show," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 1072-1085, December.
    36. Romer, Paul M., 1990. "Human capital and growth: Theory and evidence," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 251-286, January.
    37. Quah, Danny T, 1997. "Empirics for Growth and Distribution: Stratification, Polarization, and Convergence Clubs," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 27-59, March.
    38. Paap, Richard & Franses, Philip Hans & van Dijk, Dick, 2005. "Does Africa grow slower than Asia, Latin America and the Middle East? Evidence from a new data-based classification method," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 553-570, August.
    39. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1992. "Convergence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 223-251, April.
    40. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    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. Paulo Ferreira & Andreia Dionísio, 2019. "City Brand: What Are the Main Conditions for Territorial Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Guangyou Zhou & Sumei Luo, 2018. "Higher Education Input, Technological Innovation, and Economic Growth in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Loures, L. & Ferreira, P., 2019. "Energy consumption as a condition for per capita carbon dioxide emission growth: The results of a qualitative comparative analysis in the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 220-225.

    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. Barnabé Walheer, 2016. "Multi-Sector Nonparametric Production-Frontier Analysis of the Economic Growth and the Convergence of the European Countries," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 498-524, October.
    2. Walheer, Barnabé, 2016. "Growth and convergence of the OECD countries: A multi-sector production-frontier approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 252(2), pages 665-675.
    3. Walheer, Barnabé, 2018. "Labour productivity growth and energy in Europe: A production-frontier approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 129-143.
    4. Paul Johnson & Chris Papageorgiou, 2020. "What Remains of Cross-Country Convergence?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(1), pages 129-175, March.
    5. 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.
    6. Silvia Dal Bianco, 2016. "Going clubbing in the eighties: convergence in manufacturing sectors at a glance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 623-659, March.
    7. Leone Leonida & Leone Leonida & Daniel Montolio, 2003. "Public Capital, Growth and Convergence in Spain. A Counterfactual Density Estimation Approach," Working Papers 2003/3, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    8. Aparna Lolayekar & Pranab Mukhopadhyay, 2017. "Growth Convergence and Regional Inequality in India (1981–2012)," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 15(2), pages 307-328, June.
    9. Sarah J. Carrington & Pablo Jiménez‐Ayora, 2021. "Shedding light on the convergence debate: Using luminosity data to investigate economic convergence in Ecuador," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 200-227, February.
    10. Magrini, Stefano, 2004. "Regional (di)convergence," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 62, pages 2741-2796, Elsevier.
    11. Walheer, Barnabé, 2021. "Labor productivity and technology heterogeneity," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Andrea Bonilla, 2014. "An Examination of the Convergence in the Output of South American Countries: The Influence of the Region's Integration Projects," Working Papers halshs-01069353, HAL.
    13. Andrea Bonilla Bolanos, 2014. "An Examination of the Convergence in the Output of South American Countries: The Influence of the Region’s Integration Projects," Working Papers 1424, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    14. Carlos Mendez & Mitsuhiko Kataoka, 2021. "Disparities in regional productivity, capital accumulation, and efficiency across Indonesia: A club convergence approach," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 790-809, May.
    15. Nicholas Apergis & Christina Christou & Stephen Miller, 2012. "Convergence patterns in financial development: evidence from club convergence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 1011-1040, December.
    16. Cheong, Tsun Se & Wu, Yanrui, 2018. "Convergence and transitional dynamics of China's industrial output: A county-level study using a new framework of distribution dynamics analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 125-138.
    17. Montañés, Antonio & Olmos, Lorena & Reyes, Marcelo, 2016. "Does crisis affect convergence process? The case of the Spanish provinces," MPRA Paper 69543, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Falko Juessen, 2009. "A distribution dynamics approach to regional GDP convergence in unified Germany," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 627-652, December.
    19. Amélie Charles & Olivier Darne & Jean-François Hoarau, 2012. "Convergence of real per capita GDP within COMESA countries: A panel unit root evidence," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(1), pages 53-71, August.
    20. Chhavi Tiwari & Sankalpa Bhattacharjee & Debkumar Chakrabarti, 2020. "Investigating Regional Inequalities in India: Are Indian Districts Converging?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 684-716, July.

    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:vrs:reoecp:v:16:y:2016:i:4:p:279-296:n:1. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    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.