Convergence or divergence – Transition in agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States revisited

Abstract

The agriculture of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries as well as of the Soviet Union was an often studied area in the 1970´s and 1980´s among agricultural economists. After the system collapse, the transition of the agricultural sectors of these regions has gained importance. However, around the millennium, this topic was less studied. This paper aims at analysing the agricultural performance of CEE and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries between 1997 and 2016 and identifying whether the system change and transition have brought changes and convergence in agricultural productivity to EU-15 levels. In doing so, the paper uses convergence theory and associated methods (Kernel density and Markov transition probability) to underpin its arguments. Results suggest that CEE and CIS countries have experienced a limited convergence to Western-European standards. However, there still exists a significant performance gap between the two regions with CEE countries standing closer to EU-15 averages. Reasons behind diverging performances are numerous as discussed at the end of the paper.