Asymmetry in EU & EMU: What impact did the financial crisis have?

This paper aims to show what effect the financial crisis in the period 2008-2009 has had on the existing asymmetry between the northern and southern countries in the EU and the EMU. By using macroeconomic indicators of twenty-seven EU and seventeen EMU countries over the period 1995-2011 we test for an increased asymmetry due to the financial crisis, using the endogenous growth model. Results show that there is a significant difference between the northern and southern groups, therefore asymmetry is evident. The financial crisis 2008-2009 had a negative impact on the GDP per capita in both groups in the EU and EMU, although not significant. We reject the hypothesis of increased asymmetry due to the financial crisis