This paper empirically studies whether it pays off (in terms of economic growth)

to fulfill the convergence criteria on the public budget and participation in the Euro–

zone. The analysis is based on data of European economies with a special focus on

twelve Euro–zone members and a control group of six non–Euro countries for the

years from 1970 to 2014. The results show that growth is higher if the debt to

GDP ratio is below 60 % compared to values above it. Moreover, a comparison

with European economies outside the Euro–zone shows higher growth values for

Euro–members than for the control group. Regression estimations reveal a negative

relationship between the two variables for the Euro–group. For the control group

the relationship is not statistically significant.