37 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2016 Last revised: 20 Oct 2018

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 1, 2016

Abstract

We ask whether EU membership has been associated with increased domestic economic growth. Using different causal identification strategies, different time periods, different country samples, and different datasets, we are unable to demonstrate the presence of a membership growth premium. This may reflect that GDP data are too noisy and/or causal identification too complicated, in which case we should remain agnostic about the EU’s growth impact. Alternatively, it may reflect that EU membership simply has no effect on prosperity.