Regional convergence in Poland and Ukraine after 2004 – a comparative analysis

Tomasz Żminda1, Jakub Bis2
1, 2 Lublin University of Technology, Poland
Żminda, Tomasz (Lublin University of Technology, Poland)
Bis, Jakub (Lublin University of Technology, Poland)
Regional convergence in Poland and Ukraine after 2004 – a comparative analysis
Annals of Marketing Management and Economics, 2016, vol.2, nr 2, s. 133-151

Key words

regional convergence GDP region economic growth Poland Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to compare the process of regional convergence in Poland and Ukraine, with special regard to its direction and dynamics. Regional convergence is widely discussed in the literature, and has gained in importance in the context of European integration, especially in the past decade. Less attention is devoted to the process of convergence of regions of European states which are not associated with the European Union. The authors attempt to fill this gap, in particular to the extent to which they devote attention to the processes of regional convergence in Ukraine. In the study the authors put forward the hypotheses that the processes of regional convergence in Poland and in Ukraine occur in entirely different economic conditions, and therefore their direction and dynamics differ significantly. The target period of the analysis covered the years 2004–2013, while the scope of this research was extended into the 1990s and described in the section of the article which presents the specifics of economic growth and changes in the three-sector structures, providing the context for regional convergence in comparable countries.