Income disparities in the enlarged EU: National convergence and regional divergence

The article deals with the development of disparities in regional per capita GDP and convergence processes in the enlarged EU. A NUTS2 data for the EU-27 countries is analysed for the period 1995-2008. Poorer European regions show higher average growth rates such that convergence might be reasonably expected. However, the convergence process is slow and it has been driven mainly by national factors. In the course of this process, regional disparities within the new member states countries have actually increased. Furthermore, the economic agglomeration has increased because capital cities. The results may have important policy implications.