Catching Up or Falling Behind? Economic Convergence and Regional Development Trajectories in Romania

The main aim of the article is to analyse the economic convergence between the NUTS 3 level units (counties) in Romania during a period of intensive economic growth (1999-2011). The main added value of the paper consists in the measurement of the multi-dimensional convergence and in adding a spatial dimension to the convergence analysis by testing the spatial autocorrelation. We have found no economic convergence for the analysed period, the economic growth process being polarized by the capital region. But in contrast, we have evidenced a social convergence process, starting with 2008 for the education component of the HDI and starting even earlier, in 2004, for the life expectancy component. In addition, we have tested the convergence club hypothesis, which has evidenced the club convergence phenomena in Romania as well.