Akademik Hassasiyetler, cilt.10, sa.23, ss.136-166, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
This study aims to investigate possible developments in the Turkish economy, in case Türkiye becomes a full member of the European Union (EU), by examining the economic performances of the new members of the EU in the 2000s. The study covers thirteen-member countries that were accepted as full members of the EU in the 2000s and Türkiye, which is a candidate country to the EU. Eight (there were seven members when the study was done) of the new members are also in the Euro Area (Eurozone). While eleven of the new members are located in Central and Eastern Europe, Malta and Cyprus are two island countries located in the Mediterranean. After testing the normality of GDP per capita for the country set, the correlation between the countries was investigated. The growth performance with growth convergence equation and breakpoints with different unit root tests in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of the member countries before and after the membership were also analysed by time series and panel data. Lithuania has the best performance in income per capita increase in 1995-2021 period whereas Romania has the second and Latvia has the third best performance. Due to the convergence theorem, new member countries have highest growth rate than the EU and Euro Area in income per capita in 1995-2021 period.