Investigating the stationarity hypothesis of Gross Domestic Product per capita in Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent State countries: Evidence using Fourier based panel KPSS test

Using annual data from 1985 to 2016, the study conducts a robust panel stationarity analysis by accounting for cross-sectional dependency, sharp breaks and gradual structural shifts for per capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP) of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) countries. The empirical finding reveals that PCGDP at different Fourier frequency and model structure (trend or constant) for both CEE and CIS countries are unit root process. Moreover, the PCGDP of CEE and CIS countries are nonmean reverting in the presence of cross-sectional dependence and gradual structural shifts which previous studies using well-known panel stationarity estimators fail to find. Policy insights are highlighted in the conclusion section.