The Role of Maastricht Criteria and Membership in Determining Convergence in the Eurozone and ASEAN: A Panel Data Analysis

The effectiveness of The Maastricht Treaty (MT) to induce economic convergence in the area was questionable after some Eurozone countries hit by the recent economic crisis. Some studies showed that Maastricht Criteria (MC) as accession criteria for euro membership contributed to low growth in area. It is interesting to analyze the impact of MC and membership on income convergence in the Eurozone and compare it with Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN). Employing panel analysis, the purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the income convergence with MC as control variables in the Eurozone and ASEAN during 1990-2009, or just one decade before and after the introduction of Euro coin. The result showed that both the Eurozone and ASEAN were unconditionally and conditionally converged, and also indicated the significance of MC in determining income convergence in both areas. The findings were interesting for policy makers, especially for ASEAN, which was in the process for implementing ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.