Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to explore the institutional convergence of Central and Eastern European Union member countries as a possible consequence of both the transfer of selected Western formal institutions to those countries and the adoption of acquis communautaire. This issue dates back to the beginning of the 1990s when the predominant expectation was that the successful formal institutions in Western countries would yield the same results in transition countries. In the meantime, mainly because of informal constraints, this has shown to be a misconception in most cases. The methodology used in the paper is twofold. First, by means of descriptive statistics, and using the varieties of capitalism approach, we show that, when analysing institutional quality using the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), there are two divergent groups of EU countries. The first group consists of Liberal, Nordic, and Continental countries, and the second consists of Mediterranean and CEE member states that are further divided into liberal and coordinated market economies. Second, based on the calculation of the σ- and unconditional β-convergence of governance trends in the period 1996–2019, we empirically confirm that there are also variations within the CEE countries as well as within the specific dimensions of governance.
Highlights
The beginning of post-socialist transformation was a period characterised by a great gap
EU accession was perceived as another great momentum for institutional change(s) and convergence based on mutual formal institutions—the acquis communautaire
We look at the σ-convergence for all six dimensions contained in the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI): Voice and Accountability (VA), Rule of Law (RoL), Regulatory Quality (RQ), Control of Corruption (CoC), Government Effectiveness (GE), and Political Stability and Absence of Violence (PSAV) (Figure 3)
Summary
The beginning of post-socialist transformation was a period characterised by a great gap. It was considered a historic opportunity for large-scale change, yet the deficit of expertise and understanding required for such transformation was quite evident. Most scholars and incumbents advocated for ready-made solutions that had previously been shown to be successful. This meant importing Western best practices that, according to their results in countries of origin, were expected to yield benefits in transitional societies as well. Rapid change did not happen according to prevailing initial expectations, and diversity among countries appeared to emerge in various aspects
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