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A new look at economic convergence in Europe: a common factor approach

Author

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  • Bettina Becker

    (Department of Economics, Loughborough University, UK)

  • Stephen G. Hall

    (Department of Economics, University of Leicester, UK)

Abstract

We propose a common factor approach to analyse convergence, which we implement using principal components analysis. We show that this method provides a useful new way of approaching the convergence debate. We apply this technique to a data set of monthly exchange rates of the 12 member countries of the European Monetary Union (EMU) over 1970-2001. Our empirical results neatly capture the convergence patterns related to the various regimes from Bretton Woods towards EMU. The UK's Pound Sterling has been on a gradual convergence path to the Euro, although convergence is less progressed than it was for the EMU countries by 1999. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Bettina Becker & Stephen G. Hall, 2009. "A new look at economic convergence in Europe: a common factor approach," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 85-97.
    • Handle: RePEc:ijf:ijfiec:v:14:y:2009:i:1:p:85-97
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.364
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    Cited by:

    1. M. J. Aziakpono & S. Kleimeier & H. Sander, 2012. "Banking market integration in the SADC countries: evidence from interest rate analyses," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(29), pages 3857-3876, October.
    2. Jana Riedel, 2020. "On real interest rate convergence among G7 countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 599-626, August.
    3. Becker, Bettina & Hall, Stephen G., 2009. "How far from the Euro Area? Measuring convergence of inflation rates in Eastern Europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 788-798, July.
    4. B Harrison & W Moore, 2010. "Stock Market Co-Movement in the Caribbean," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Stephen Hall & Sérgio Lagoa, 2014. "Inflation and Business Cycle Convergence in the Euro Area: Empirical Analysis Using an Unobserved Component Model," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 885-908, November.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange

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