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Small but beautiful? Economic impacts of the size of nations in the European Union

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  • König, Jörg
  • Ohr, Renate

Abstract

This paper highlights the economic meaning of the size of the state for members of the European Union, thereby making the economic success of EU states statistically tangible. Firstly, we show in descriptive illustrations that the theoretically expected characteristics of small countries clearly apply to the current EU states. From the theoretical perspective, only the bivariate relationship between the population size and the economic growth initially depicts an unexpected sign. However, the econometric analysis performed on our panel data set confirms the assumption that this relationship is strongly influenced by factors other than population size, such as the duration of EU membership, the level of economic development (transformation process) and the increased development potential provided by EU funds. When subtracting these effects through appropriate statistical methods, there is an overall significant positive dependence of economic growth on the size of the state.

Suggested Citation

  • König, Jörg & Ohr, Renate, 2011. "Small but beautiful? Economic impacts of the size of nations in the European Union," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 128, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cegedp:128
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    1. repec:got:cegedp:135 is not listed on IDEAS
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    3. Ohr, Renate & Özalbayrak, Mehmet, 2012. "The Euro: A "MUST" for small European states?," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 131, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    4. König, Jörg & Ohr, Renate, 2012. "Messung ökonomischer Integration in der Europäischen Union: Entwicklung eines EU-Integrationsindexes," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 135, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    European Union; economic integration; small open economy; size of nations; economic growth; panel data.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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