Evaluating the efficiency of European Union integration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the effectiveness of the integration of Europe by benchmarking economic progress made by the participating nations. Design/methodology/approach – Using data envelopment analysis, this paper compares the relative performance of 26 European Union (EU) nations against one another with seven economic variables as the benchmark parameters from 1999 to 2006. Findings – The paper finds that not all the participating nations were equally efficient at the beginning of the economic integration in 1999. Economic integration does help in achieving convergence in economic performance of 26 EU nations, because 18 of the 26 nations were efficient in 2002. However, this paper finds that after 2002, there is a lack of convergence in the performance of 26 EU nations and some nations have performed more efficiently in contrast to other nations. Originality/value – The paper identifies the member nations that are lagging behind and make recommendations as to how they can improve their performance to bring them at par with other participating nations.