EVALUATION OF CONVERGENCE IN SOCIAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Authors

Keywords
social protection expenditure, club convergence, beta-convergence, fixed effects models, panel data.

Summary
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the degree of convergence across the EU Member States in social protection expenditure for the period 2008-2016 by using statistical and econometric approaches for measuring convergence. This is achieved by accomplishing several tasks: presentation of theoretical concepts and statistical and econometric approaches for convergence evaluation; exploring the convergence process through the club convergence approach; exploring the convergence process through the beta-convergence approach across European Union Member States as a whole, and between countries in individual convergence clubs; analysis of the impact of structural variables on social protection expenditure and the cohesion process.

The thesis defended by the author is that by using the applied approaches for the study of the club convergence and beta-convergence, an adequate evaluation of the degree of convergence of the EU Member States is achieved. This makes it possible to establish the rate of convergence to the general equilibrium both within the European Union and within separate convergence clubs.

As a result of the study of club convergence, convergence clubs, clubs in a process of transitional divergence, as well as countries that are not involved in that process are identified. The study of beta-convergence shows a process of reducing disparities in convergence clubs and the European Union as a whole. The findings of the study indicate that the additional variables in the models of conditional beta-convergence have a significant impact on the increase in the social protection expenditure and the cohesion process. EU countries converge at a faster pace into the general equilibrium level of social protection expenditure when it is presented as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.

JEL: C10, C50, I38.
Pages: 26
Price: 3 Points

More titles

  • EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT BUDGET BALANCE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH

    The necessity of adequate use of public budget as a fiscal instrument for economic regulation is even more tangible in conditions of slow economic growth rate. The debate on whether the public budget can maintain a balance between economic stability and social equity has a long history. Another question is whether budget deficit or budget surplus ...

  • INTERESTS AND BEHAVIOUR – MANAGERIAL ASPECTS

    Managing employees’ behaviour is a challenge that every leader has to face and is closely related to managing their interests. Changing human behaviour is a gradual process because behavioural change is the most difficult and slowest to achieve, and the outcome is expected in the long run. The main objective of this research is to study the ...

  • INFORMATION SECURITY OF HOSPITALS IN BULGARIA

    The relevance of this study is determined by the increasing requirements of and threats to the information security of healthcare facilities. The aim of the study is to investigate the state of information security of hospitals in Bulgaria and to define the concept of the model for information security. The following tasks are solved: studying the ...