Ekonominės ir socialinės sanglaudos ir sąsajų su ekonomikos augimu vertinimas Europos Sąjungoje
Abstract
The doctoral dissertation aim is to find answer to following scientific problem: which of
theoretical interpretations of integration, convergence and cohesion, as well as methodological
tools should be used as a basis to measure and evaluate economic and social cohesion
and its links with economic growth in EU? In the work it was developed the interpretation of
the concept of economic and social cohesion, which is based on three fundamental aspects:
convergence (convergence of the development levels of the entities is necessarily a result of cohesion),
continuous development (balanced development of all components of cohesion) and
sustainability (a constant development of all the compared entities). Author developed and
practically tested the model of assessment of economic and social cohesion in the EU, based
on the aggregate economic and social cohesion index. In this model GDP and Maastricht convergence
criteria are supplemented by important structural indicators (employment, income
inequality and risk-of-poverty), which help better assess real cohesion situation in EU.