Jarosław Wołkonowski

The purpose of the article is to analyse differences in income in Lithuania during 2000–2011, and to study the trends of change of the phenomenon. In the period 2000–2011, research methods of studying income diversity changed (surveys on household budgets were conducted by the Department of Statistics assigned to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania). At the beginning of the studied period – in 2000–2008 – the average expenses of a household member were studied by grouping the data using the method of deciles. Later, household incomes were studied using quintiles. The data and the analyses presented in the article show that income diversification in Lithuania during the studied period changed, but it was much higher than the average of the EU-27.

The basic goal of European integration is to even out the development level of member states and regions. The aim of the paper is to examine the economic and social cohesion of Lithuania's districts (apskritis) in the period after joining the EU. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: descriptive statistics and analysis of the volatility index and convergence indicators. The survey is based on statistical data of the Department of Statistics of Lithuania and includes such variables as GDP per capita for districts, employment and unemployment rate, FDI per capita, income disparities, and demographic situation. The research shows that for most economic and social indicators the coefficient of variation had an increasing trend, which means worsening cohesion. This was confirmed by studies on beta and sigma convergence, which showed the minimal values of both convergences. These results testify to the erroneous principles of establishing the districts. As of 1 January 2018, Lithuania transformed this structure into two regions: the Capi- tal Region and the Region of Central and Western Lithuania.

The aim of the article is to examine the process of Lithuania’s accession to the euro-zone in 2015 and the inflation resulting from the introduction of the euro. Statistical data for the years 2015–2016 did not give cause for concern, but prices for particular goods increased significantly during this period, which caused great dissatisfaction among the Lithuanians. The paper analyses inflation trends and changes in prices for particular goods (including top 40 most purchased products). The comparative meth-od has been used and weight changes have been measured by calculating the annual rates of change for commodity classes in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) using 2013–2016 data provided by Eurostat, the Lithuanian Statistics De-partment, the World Bank, and the European Central Bank. The analysis revealed that after the introduction of the euro the prices for particular goods and services increased, but the decline in oil prices in the world markets offset those increases in the basket, thus maintaining inflation at a low level.

This article aims to examine changes in the foreign trade of Lithuania. The article analyses the export and import of Lithuania in the period between 2005 and 2014. The research of the structure of foreign trade, which has been carried out on the basis of the international classification of goods SITC, helped to identify the most important sections of the export and import of Lithuania and the dynamics of their changes. The largest sectors of export and import of Lithuania during this period were 33 Crude oil and its products and 78 Means of transport. The Lithuania’s accession to the EU affected the foreign trade of the country. The structure of export and import of Lithuania followed the patterns of the EU-15 export and import structure. In the analysed period new sections of goods and new destination directions were established in foreign trade. Russia, Germany, Poland, and Latvia were the main export and import partners of Lithuania during this period.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have regained independence and accession to the EU have brought great transformations in economic and social life of the Baltic States. One of the determinants of these changes is international emigration. For many years Lithuania has maintained the highest rate of migration in the EU. Latvia follows close behind. The aim of this article is to determine the causes of such state of affairs and to assess the changes in emigration in the Baltic countries during the studied period, according to the level, structure, and destination countries. The study is based on the data acquired from statistical offices of the countries in question and the EU. The main reason for emigration of the inhabitants of these countries is striving for a higher level of prosperity. Economic theories of migration divide these reasons into „push factors” and „pull factors”. The former include low standards of living in the country of birth or government policy, while the latter – good economic prospects in the destination country. Considerable impact on emigration was made by the crisis that started in Lithuania and Latvia in 2009 and resulted in over 15% decline in GDP. Young and middle-aged people constitute the main part of the emigrants in the studied countries and the nature of their migration is primarily profit-making.