Regional and Macroeconomic Convergence of Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia Before and After the EU Accession

Abstract

The first Eastern enlargement in 2004 was a milestone in the history of the European Union (EU). The catching up of the new Member States became a strategic priority for the EU and the Central and Eastern European countries as well. This is because economic convergence is a significant element of integration maturity. Therefore, convergence analysis is an important issue from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The study examines the regional and macroeconomic convergence of the three small Visegrad countries (Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia) using different quantitative methods. The result of the analysis are quite ambivalent. Regional disparities within the Member States have not decreased, however, positive results can be seen in terms of catching up. The results of the model draw the attention to the fact that economic growth plays a key role in the process of catching up. Furthermore, the conclusions are in line with other empirical results, too.