Новите страни-членки и процесът на ценова конвергенция в ЕС
The New Member Countries and the Process of Price Convergence in the EU

Author(s): Valentin Bilyanski
Subject(s): Economy, Supranational / Global Economy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: price level; price convergence; new member countries; European Union
Summary/Abstract: This study examines price level differences in the New Member States (NMS) and their deviation from the EU average. The analysis is based on 61 analytical product groups for which Eurostat data are published. Then the process of price convergence is examined and an attempt to be identified the main factors that influence it is made. The results of the study show that lower price levels in NMS are mainly due to cheaper services, while prices for the most commodity groups are close to the average EU levels, even in some cases higher. The price convergence is not one-way process. In the NMS it is more intense in the pre-accession period to the EU and in periods of high economic growth. However, during and after the world financial and economic crisis, this process was slowing down, and there was even a divergence of price levels.

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