Real economic convergence in the European Union and the eurozone – lessons for Croatia

Cilj je ovog istraživanja ispitati teorijske osnove konvergencije i utvrditi dinamiku promjena ekonomskih performansi zemalja Europske unije ovisno o pripadnosti eurozoni. Svrha je dobiti nalaze o ostvarivanju realne konvergencije i o promjenama ekonomskih performansi u uvjetima krize. Nalazi mogu biti relevantni za Hrvatsku koja od 1. 1. 2023. postaje članica eurozone. Ekonomske performanse nacionalnih ekonomija izražene su bruto domaćim proizvodom po stanovniku. Za utvrđivanje konvergencije primijenjeni su koncepti mjerenja: sigma, beta, gama i delta u razdoblju 2010. – 2019. godine. Identifikacija promjena ekonomskih performansi u uvjetima krize provedena je na temelju podataka za 2009. godinu i 2020. godinu. Rezultati istraživanja sadržani su u identificiranim razlikama između definiranih skupina zemalja u ostvarivanju realne konvergencije u promatranom desetogodišnjem razdoblju i u ostvarenim ekonomskim performansama u kriznim uvjetima.The aim of this research is to investigate the theoretical foundations of convergence and to determine the dynamics of changes in the economic performance of European Union countries depending on their membership to the euro area. The purpose is to obtain findings on achieving real convergence and on changes in economic performance in times of crisis. The findings may be relevant for Croatia, which will become a member of the eurozone on 1 January 2023. Economic performance of national economies is expressed in gross domestic product per capita. To determine convergence, the following measurement concepts were used: sigma, beta, gamma, and delta in the period from 2010 to 2019. The identification of changes in economic performance in crisis conditions was carried out based on data for 2009 and 2020. The results of this research are contained in the identified differences between the defined groups of countries in achieving real convergence within the observed ten-year period and in the achieved economic performance in crisis conditions