An Integrative Approach to Measuring Economic Convergence: The Case of the European Union

Empirical convergence analyses have helped provide insight as to whether economies are converging. Previous works on convergence have tended to focus on a particular economic indicator exclusively, even though the convergence process has multiple components. Improved estimates of convergence are likely to result from an integrated approach wherein several indicators are considered simultaneously. The proposed model integrates convergence analyses for three convergence variables to estimate the overall rate of economic convergence in the EU during 1960 to 1990. The research indicates that convergence is occurring overall, but that employment convergence is happening at a considerably slower pace than are the other types of convergence.