This paper investigates determinants of convergence in GDP per capita in the euro area and the EU between 1995 and 2021. It finds that the COVID-19 crisis temporarily slowed convergence but the estimated negative impact is significantly smaller than during the global financial crisis. Diverging...

Having had little time to absorb the economic and social shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union is confronted with staggering increases in the cost of living. While household burdens vary significantly across and within countries, most European countries are struggling to cushion the...

The European Commission put forward its strategy for the 2010-2020 period in its Europe 2020 Communication. Inequality should be seen as a cornerstone of both sustainable and inclusive growth. In fact, unequal societies are also more unstable societies (i.e. unsustainable) and more polarised...

Over the last two decades, income disparities between EU member states tended to decline, particularly before the financial crisis. While Central and Eastern Europe caught up with the EU average, Southern Europe fell behind after 2009. Catch-up growth in both peripheries relied on nominal...

Convergence among regions is explicitly defined as a political aim of the European Union. Overall, NUTS3 regions have indeed shown a path of convergence since the year 2000, but there are huge differences among the regions. Many Eastern European countries as well as several regions in Spain and...