TESTING CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE AMONG EU MEMBER STATES

Convergence is considered to be a fundamental element of the current economic literature and at the same time of the macroeconomic system concentrating upon distribution of the revenues among states and upon the polarity and differences that characterize the modern economies. Relating convergence to economic growth is considered to be an extremely debated subject that determines a series of interpretations. The existence of convergence throughout the economies was tested in order to establish the validity of the modern theories of economic growth. Also testing the speed of convergence between different economies is regarded as a key indicator of the economic growth models. This study aims to investigate the current degree of convergence between different member states of European Union using different models and determine the main factors that conduct economies to converge or on the contrary to diverge one another and the channels used.