Starting on 1 May 2004, 11 countries in Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and in the Baltics (EU11) joined the European Union (EU) in three consecutive waves. Half a generation later, and a full generation after the start of transition in the region, we thought it would be opportune to...

This chapter examines the macroeconomic benefits that membership of the Single Market has given to the 11 Baltics, Central and South Eastern European countries that joined the EU after 2004. We find that these EU11 countries have benefitted particularly from membership of the internal market...

Trade and access to international capital markets are often assumed to support countries’ development, notably through technology transfers that support convergence. In this chapter we review economic developments in the EU Central, Eastern and Southeastern (CESEE) countries (namely Bulgaria,...

This chapter reviews labour market developments pre- and post-EU Enlargement in the Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries. During the post-transition phase CESEE economies went through dramatic processes of structural change (deindustrialisation, tertiarisation, uneven...

This chapter focuses on the measurement of institutional convergence in the new EU member states and four Southern European EU member countries. Previous studies have used perception data or expert surveys at the country level to quantify institutional convergence. We present a new method which...

EU cohesion policy supports investment in infrastructure, R&D and human capital in Europe’s poorer regions. This chapter summarises model-based assessments of the potential macro-economic impact of these fiscal transfers using a micro-founded dynamic general equilibrium model with...

Building on Vinhas de Souza (and Vinhas de Souza and Tudela), this chapter briefly describes the historical process of financial liberalization and integration of Baltic and Central European Countries (BCECs) since the 1990s. It investigates the hypotheses that the type of financial integration...

Central Eastern European Countries (CEECs) went through a process of deep financial integration with advanced European countries, spurred by the entry in the European Union. Financial integration took place through an unprecedented entry of foreign banks in local banking markets, which led to a...

National fiscal frameworks (NFFs) represent a set of domestic arrangements to enhance the predictability and transparency of public finances. This chapter looks into a specific aspect of institutional convergence: the development of NFFs in the EU-11 countries following their EU accession. The...

Countries in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESE) face the challenge of becoming "demographically old before being economically rich". Ensuring the long-term stability and adequacy of pension systems was one of the most important tasks that these countries faced following economic...