Price convergence in the European Union and in the new member states
Wolszczak-Derlacz, Joanna;De Blander, Rembert
(2009) Bank i Kredyt : National Bank of Poland’s Journal on Economics and Finance — Vol. 40, n° 2, p. 37-59 (2009)
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Authors
Wolszczak-Derlacz, JoannaGdansk University of Technology
Author
De Blander, RembertUCLouvain
Author
Abstract
This paper examines price dispersion in the European Union (EU15) and in three New Member States (Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic) between 1995 and 2006. The research is motivated by the fact that the price convergence problem is at the top of the public agenda in many New Member States (NMS). The analysis utilizes both disaggregate and aggregate price data, including the prices of 157 products and two indices constructed using two different weighting procedures. For each category of goods the price dispersion is lower in EU15 than EU15 plus 3 NMS. Sigma convergence measured as a decline in the standard deviation over time is rejected. Unit root tests reject the validity of the Law of One Price (LOOP) for most of the estimations of indices but confirm the LOOP for individual goods. The half-lives are shorter for NMS than for the EU15.
Affiliations
Gdansk University of TechnologyFaculty of Management and Economics
Wolszczak-Derlacz, J., & De Blander, R. (2009). Price convergence in the European Union and in the new member states. Bank i Kredyt : National Bank of Poland’s Journal on Economics and Finance, 40(2), 37-59. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/86806 (Original work published 2009)