Abstract
The EU has long viewed economic and institutional convergence as important goals, but the results thus far have been decidedly mixed, and there remain several open questions: How exactly should convergence be defined? How much convergence is necessary? What steps can be taken to improve convergence in the EU, and how can success be defined? Finally, how much convergence can be achieved by improving the economic performance in underperforming regions, and how can convergence in the form of harmonisation towards lower welfare levels be avoided?
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Research assistance from S. Cheliout and J. Mont is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the National Bank of Belgium.
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Bongardt, A., Torres, F., Hefeker, C. et al. Convergence in the EU. Intereconomics 48, 72–92 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-013-0448-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-013-0448-9