Regional economic growth in the European Union: Applying the QML estimator
Florin Teodor Boldeanu
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
boldeanuflorinteodor@yahoo.com
Lenuta Boldeanu
National University of Music Bucharest, Romania
boldeanulenuta60@yahoo.com
Abstract
Regions have different characteristics and level of development starting from infrastructure, industry, tourism, services or taxations. This is why this investigation aims to find the most important determinants of regional economic growth in the European Union. The sample date was collected for 98 NUTS 1 and 271 NUTS 2 regions with a time frame of 14 years (2000-2013). To obtain the results for the two models used, the paper utilized the QML estimation. The results showed that labour productivity, employment, energy consumption, life expectancy are positively influencing growth, and that government debt and early leavers from education hinder growth.
Keywords: regional economic growth; QML estimator; NUTS 1; NUTS 2