Premium
Join to Prosper? An Empirical Analysis of EU Membership and Economic Growth
Author(s) -
Andersen Thomas Barnebeck,
Barslund Mikkel,
Vanhuysse Pieter
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
kyklos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1467-6435
pISSN - 0023-5962
DOI - 10.1111/kykl.12200
Subject(s) - prosperity , join (topology) , identification (biology) , economics , estimation , eu countries , international trade , european union , economic growth , botany , mathematics , management , combinatorics , biology
Summary We explore whether EU membership has led to faster economic growth. Using different estimation strategies, different time periods, different country samples, and different datasets, we are unable to demonstrate the presence of a membership growth premium. This may reflect that GDP data are too noisy and/or causal identification too complicated, in which case we should remain agnostic about the EU's growth impact. Alternatively, it may reflect that EU membership simply has no effect on economic growth. Either way, these findings urge strong caution about one of EU membership's key alleged benefits: greater economic prosperity.