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Unemployment Convergence In Transition, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

In this paper an attempt is made to inquire the dynamics of regional unemployment rates in transition economies. We use policy relevant NUTS4 unemployment rates for transition economies characterised by both relatively intense (Poland, Slovaka) and relatively mild labour market hardships (Czech Republic). We apply diverse analytical techniques to seek traces of convergence, including beta- and sigma-convergence as well as time-series approach.

Transition economies typically experienced rapid growth of the unemployment rates due to profound restructuring. Naturally, these processes affected local labour markets asymmetrically, since regions were diversified with respect to industry composition and economic outlooks. Results in each of …