Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 4 / 2021 (629), Winter
The pandemic crisis – A new factor to slow down the expansion of the Eurozone
"Costin C. Kiriţescu" National Institute for Economic Research, Romanian Academy, Romania
Abstract. The pandemic crisis from 2020-2021 has produced negative effects on the economies of six European Union (EU) member states outside the Eurozone: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. This paper presents the economic and social situation in the aforementioned states, before the pandemic started in Europe and after the Sars-Cov-2 infection rates began to drop, and many restrictions previously imposed on tourism, hospitality, culture, sports and free movement were lifted. The paper highlights whether the Maastricht Treaty nominal convergence criteria were met or not by Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania, as they represent an important pillar of joining the Eurozone; the paper also analyzes the real convergence – especially the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, calculated to the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The pandemic crisis, as well as some misunderstandings at EU level, have led Romania, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary to postpone adopting the Euro, as the latter 3 states did not even set a Eurozone joining deadline. Yet, some progress has been made by Bulgaria and Croatia, as they included their national currency in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) starting July 10, 2020.
Contents
The pandemic crisis – A new factor to slow down the expansion of the Eurozone
Revealing the effects of competitiveness and innovation on economic growth: Evidence from European leading and following countries
Public service delivery dilemma and economic growth challenges in the MENA Region
Hidden Markov Model using transaction patterns for ATM card fraud detection
Productivity growth in Chinese cities: The agglomeration effect for cross-regional industrial structures
Time-varying volatility spillover of foreign exchange rate in three Asian markets: Based on DCC-GARCH approach
Non-linear effect of public debt on economic growth: The case of Tunisia
Application of single Sharpe index on the optimal portfolio construction using Indian blue-chip stocks
Budget policy, economic cycle and debt in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries: Empirical evidence based on a regime change model
The impact of government spending on the economic growth of a sample of developing countries using panel data
The evolution of consumer prices – the main brake on economic growth
Analysis of income inequalities in the pre-pandemic COVID-19 period