Speed of economic convergence and EU public policy

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to estimate the potential effects of EU-15 public policies on economic convergence. In particular, an empirical proposal is presented to compare, in terms of convergence speed, the results reached in the EU with the policies implemented
with those obtained under alternative policies during the 1980---2010 period. On the basis of this approach, two types of scenarios were derived, depending on whether the changes in the policy instruments are considered in all the EU-15 countries or in each of them separately. Results show that it would have been possible to obtain better results for the EU convergence with higher rates of infrastructure and education investment, which provide support for the coordination of these policies between the member countries.