The Impact of the Financial Crisis on the Real Convergence Process in Eastern and Central Europe

The current research starts from a historical analysis of the process of income convergence between different regions of the European continent, including also the transition period, the macro stabilization period and the economic recovery period of the economies of Central and Eastern Europe. The impact of the financial crisis in 2008 is underlined due to its magnitude and also due to the fact that the economic effects are still unclear in the long term. In this research paper, applied quantitative methods of analysis were applied (both statistical and econometric), which are based on a theoretical foundation applied in previous scientific studies from the literature. In this respect there are presented methods for estimating the degree of betta convergence, but also the number of years needed to equalize the incomes among the states from Central and Eastern Europe to the average of the European Union, respectively to the Eurozone.