Convergence in Social Protection Across EU Countries, 1970-1999

Abstract

This paper examines the degree of convergence in social protection registered in the European Union during the 1970-99 period. To that end, we use Eurostat data and study the long-run properties of the data set using time series analysis. Our results indicate that there is no evidence of long-run convergence in Social Protection expenditure to GDP ratios. However, we do find evidence of catching-up with respect both to Germany and the EU average for all countries belonging to EU12, except for Greece.

Keywords: Social Protection Expenditure, Convergence, European Union

JEL Classification: F42, H53, O52