Price convergence in the EU in general and in the central, Eastern and Southern European EU member states in particular
Price convergence in the EU in general and in the central, Eastern and Southern European EU member states in particular

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the paper is the analysis of price convergence in the European Union in general and in the Central and Eastern European member states in particular. The first part of the paper is an overview of the relevant literature on price convergence serving as the theoretical foundation of the subsequent empirical analyses on comparative price levels. The second part discusses sigma convergence in the EU-27 including the old (EU-15) and the new (EU-12) member states, as well as within the Economic and Monetary Union. Conditional (weak) beta convergence in the EU-12 is also analyzed. The first conclusion of the paper is that a rather strong relationship exists between sigma convergence and the process of economic integration, more precisely between sigma convergence and the establishment of the individual stages of regional economic associations. The second conclusion is that price convergence is not a secular process; it may be impeded or accelerated by a great number of micro and macroeconomic factors.

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