Convergence of European economies in the context of global inequality

This thesis deals with the convergence of European economies in the context of the deepening global inequality in the world. The theoretical part discusses the concept of convergence and the basic theories of economic growth, explaining the convergence of economies to their steady state. This part also deals with global inequality. Different types of inequalities and methods of measurement are identified, with focus on external inequality measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity. The analytical part examines the development of gross domestic product of the analyzed economies. The regression analysis of beta convergence shows that the economies converge and that the inequality between them is decreasing. One part of the analytical section also clarifies the relationship between long-term growth and its determinants. The section is concluded with the regression analysis of dependence between the long-term growth and selected determinants. The analysis shows that the statistically significant main factors contributing to long-term growth in the analyzed economies are the level of investment, openness of the economy, and government capital expenditures. Foreign direct investment inflows are also an important determinant, but not statistically significant. On the other hand, long-term economic growth is negatively influenced by the rate of population growth.