Economic Growth and Development of Less Developed Countries within Regional Integrations: The Case of the EU

Abstract

Most of the less developed countries consider regional integrations as a tool for achieving higher economic growth rates and economic development. Positive dynamic effects are what countries expect to occur in the long run within a regional integration. Since there is a trend of deepening regional integrations mutual policies on the supranational level are implemented. These policies are conducted on the basis of some aggregate measures or variables where the largest weights have more developed and big countries. Because of the existing economic heterogeneity among member countries, it is difficult to accomplish that mutual policies suit each member country in achieving its own goals. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate, on the example of the EU, the usefulness of common policies for the convergence and economic development of the less developed member countries. The main hypothesis of this paper is that there is a need to leaving certain space to these countries and to help them in the creation of special policies which are tailored to their needs in order to promote their economic growth and development and to ensure their convergence towards more developed member countries.