MACMILLAN Does EU Membership Facilitate Convergence? The Experience of the EU's Eastern Enlargement - Volume II: Channels of Interaction (Studies in Economic Transition)

This edited volume analyses the channels through which EU membership contributed to the convergence process of member countries in the Baltics, Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. These channels include trade, investment, finance, labour, and laws and institutions. Global integration has certainly played an important role. A large part of FDI flows and financial integration in the world have been persistent features of globalization. Have these countries experienced more intensive integration through these channels because of EU membership, with its much tighter institutional and political anchorage, than their fundamentals and global trends would suggest? Contributions by lead researchers of the area address different aspects of this question. . Review “The volume is an excellent account of How the EU convergence machine worked For the CEEC. Questions arise: will it continue? why has it stalled with some „older” EU members?”   Marek Belka, member of the European Parliament, former PM and Finance Minister of Poland   "To create greater convergence, we need more integration". This message, conveyed recently by a distinguished European statesman, perfectly reflects the key hypothesis this book discusses. By relevant and balanced synthesis of theory, empirical findings and country experiences, the book provides comprehensive and multi-dimensional insight into all important aspects of the linkages between integration and convergence, a rich material of a value-added to scholars, policymakers and corporate managers. Researchers will particularly value the model-based framework that builds on the various channels through which EU membership influences convergence. For policymakers such as myself, this book serves as a reminder of unique changes and reforms we witnessed and contributed to in the recent past but, more importantly, as an inspiration on how to face and address current challenges, from climate change, ageing to migration.   Boris Vujčić, Governor, Croatian National Bank "This two-volume study is a truly major contribution to our understanding of key issues related to the convergence of the New Member States of the European Union (EU11) to the frontier. The editors, Michael Landesmann and Istvan Szekely, and authors are among the most experienced analysts in this area and their contributions constitute a veritable tour de force. The focus on economic, institutional and social aspects of convergence, together with their interaction, is very appropriate and provides a rich set of insights into the past evolution and likely future trends. The two volumes are important by providing an in-depth analysis of the convergence of EU11, but their relevance is much broader, including the importance of what I would call the terminal conditions – the possibility of entering the EU – a factor with great effects that cannot be analyzed in the context of other emerging market economies.  The authors identify the weakness of institutions as a major potential limitation on the speed of EU 11 convergence in the future. The EU 11 countries have performed remarkably well and I am hopeful, together with the authors of these two volumes, that these countries will tackle successfully their present and future challenges. The two volumes are a must read for everyone interested in EU11 and emerging market economies in general."   Jan Svejnar, Professor of Global Political Economy and Founding Director of the Center on Global Economic Governance at Columbia University, USA. "This two volume collection is a treasure chest of timely information on the accession to the Economic Union (EU) of former Warsaw-Pact nations.  Volume I presents overall analysis of convergence and extensive background information on the new members.  Volume II contains careful analyses of four major linkages among new and old EU members, namely trade, finance, migration, and institutional reform, with a focus on the i