Comparative analysis of the quality of European institutions 2003-2009: convergence or divergence?

This paper gives a comparative cross-country analysis of the quality of the institutional framework that underpins economic governance in European countries. The paper attempts to identify the trends of change in the quality of institutions and determine if there is a convergence in the quality of EU institutions. The countries included in the analysis are selected groups of EU countries and the Western Balkan Countries. The analysis is based on the results of the executive officers’ opinion surveys conducted by the World Economic Forum for the Global Competitiveness Index 2003-2009. In order to identify the relative quality of public institutions and the trend towards convergence/divergence for different clusters of EU countries, a three-pillar composite indicator of institutional quality was constructed from available WEF indicators. The analysis was conducted at the aggregated level as well as for individual countries and pillars, measured in terms of difference to an average rank of survey response in the EU-14 + EU-8 members