Enhancing income convergence in Central Europe after EU accession

Enhancing income convergence in Central Europe after EU accession After nearly fifteen years of transition, the countries of Central Europe have entered the European Union on 1 May 2004. For the four countries that are members of the OECD (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovak Republic), accession follows multiyear efforts of economic stabilisation and structural transformation, which have brought them large benefits. Although convergence towards higher levels of income appears to be a distant prospect at current trend growth rates, this is not a predetermined outcome. The experience of prior entrants suggests that much leeway is available within the framework of the European Union to undertake pro-growth policies. The most promising prospect in this respect appears to reside with employment creation, which has been so far lacking and led to a rather imbalanced pattern of growth. Bringing down labour taxes, easing employment protection legislation and reducing out-of-work benefits would make important contributions in this respect. While employment matters, strong productivity growth will continue to be an essential ingredient of the catching-up process.