Anatomy of Regional Disparities in the Slovak Republic

29 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2009

See all articles by Biswajit Banerjee

Biswajit Banerjee

Haverford College

Mariusz Jarmuzek

European Central Bank (ECB); International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Date Written: July 2009

Abstract

This paper examines economic growth and various dimensions of regional disparities in Slovakia. We find that regional disparities in the levels of GDP per capita, labor productivity, and labor utilization have widened since 2000, coinciding with the time that Slovakia initiated negotiations on EU accession. Notwithstanding ?-divergence in the levels, there was conditional ?-convergence in the growth rates of GDP per capita and labor productivity. Improvements in total factor productivity were the main engine of growth of GDP in all regions. Sustaining growth and reducing disparities will require increasing the labor utilization ratio and improving the structural and policy determinants of productivity in the eastern regions. The main policy priorities are to improve transportation infrastructure, enhance cost competitiveness through greater regional differentiation in wages and further decentralization of collective bargaining, and increase accumulation of human capital.

Keywords: Cross country analysis, Economic growth, Economic models, European Union, Labor market policy, Labor productivity, Slovak Republic

Suggested Citation

Banerjee, Biswajit and Jarmuzek, Mariusz, Anatomy of Regional Disparities in the Slovak Republic (July 2009). IMF Working Paper No. 09/145, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1442247

Biswajit Banerjee

Haverford College ( email )

Haverford, PA 19041
United States

Mariusz Jarmuzek

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

Sonnemannstrasse 22
Frankfurt am Main, 60314
Germany

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States