Regional dynamics and structural changes in Central and Eastern European countries

This chapter analyses the regional dynamics of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries – EU(10). It also shows to what extent the development of CEE regions has followed the Williamson curve, and to indicate spatial patterns characterising regional differences in the period of rapid economic growth and recession, induced in most countries by the economic crisis of 2008–09. The transformation of the post-socialist countries, begun in the years 1989–92, was perhaps one of the most important (and successful) socio-economic and political experiments in modern history. In the CEE countries, the period of transition largely came to an end in the 1990s. The next decade was epitomised by new challenges accompanying the accession of these countries to the European Union. At the same time, this was a period of a global economic upswing. In terms of the entire CEE macro-region, regional convergence at the NUTS3 level was observed in the analysed period for GDP per capita measured in EUR.