CONVERGENCE AND GROWTH RATE (Konvergencia es novekedesi utem)

The study examines empirically the assumed process of convergence by the Central-East European (CEE) countries according to the expanded Solow model of human resources. The authors estimate the speed of convergence derived from capital accumulation for nine CEE countries in 1997-2006, based on several samples and model variations. Economic convergence of the post-socialist countries begins with a far from stationary level of income, which raises several problems with the methodology employed traditionally in mainstream literature. So the first half of the study examines also from a theoretical angle the subject of the speed of convergence, with special attention to actual growth rates.