Income Convergence in Poland vis-à-vis the EU: Major Trends and Prospects

The chapter intends to assess income convergence among the 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that joined the EU in 2004, 2007, and 2013: Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (EU11). Convergence in these countries is analyzed in relation to the old EU members (EU15). We also present a simulative forecast of the catching-up process between the CEE countries and Western Europe. Our forecast (or, more precisely, simulation) will be made according to three hypothetical scenarios.