ALTERNATIVE WEIGHTING SCHEMES IN SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF GDP PER CAPITA CONVERGENCE

The article analyzes conditional beta convergence in the EU28 countries with the use of spatial econometrics techniques. We consider alternative structure of the spatial weight matrix based on economic distances. Basing on the spatial Durbin-Watson model, two spatial specifications are tested, which make use of the volume of international trade and the inverted GDP per capita differences between the considered objects. We confirm the existence of GDP convergence and show that the gravity_x0002_models-type logic is superior to the approach based on inverted geographic distances.