IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aoq/ekonom/y2025i2p175-199.html

Heterogeneous Effects of the Cohesion Policy on Economic Growth in Poland: A Panel Data Analysis from 2007 to 2020

Author

Listed:
  • Łukasz Robert Piętak

Abstract

The aim of the study is twofold. Firstly, it examines the heterogeneous effects of Cohesion Policy on the growth of the NUTS 3 subregions of Poland. Secondly, it evaluates whether differences in Cohesion Policy outcomes are linked to the level of assistance. The econometric analysis spans the two planning periods of Cohesion Policy, covering 2007 to 2020. By using the dynamic Mean Group (DM) model, the study finds that Cohesion Policy produces a positive impact in 33 subregions (45%), an insignificant impact in 36 subregions (49%), and a negative impact in 4 subregions (5%). Furthermore, the econometric analysis finds that the effectiveness of EU policy is not determined solely by the assistance allocated to subregions. There are NUTS 3 units where a below-average influx of funds has yielded positive results, and others where a great deal of assistance has negatively affected economic performance. These results remain robust across various econometric approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Łukasz Robert Piętak, 2025. "Heterogeneous Effects of the Cohesion Policy on Economic Growth in Poland: A Panel Data Analysis from 2007 to 2020," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 2, pages 175-199.
    • Handle: RePEc:aoq:ekonom:y:2025:i:2:p:175-199
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ekonomista.pte.pl/pdf-195688-123567
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davide Fiaschi & Andrea Mario Lavezzi & Angela Parenti, 2018. "Does EU cohesion policy work? Theory and evidence," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 386-423, March.
    2. Micaela Antunes & Miguel Viegas & Celeste Varum & Carlos Pinho, 2020. "The Impact of Structural Funds on Regional Growth: A Panel Data Spatial Analysis," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 55(5), pages 312-319, September.
    3. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2012. "Too much of a good thing? On the growth effects of the EU's regional policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 648-668.
    4. Dumitrescu, Elena-Ivona & Hurlin, Christophe, 2012. "Testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 1450-1460.
    5. Marco Percoco, 2017. "Impact of European Cohesion Policy on regional growth: does local economic structure matter?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 833-843, June.
    6. Luisa Gagliardi & Marco Percoco, 2017. "The impact of European Cohesion Policy in urban and rural regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 857-868, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scotti, Francesco & Flori, Andrea & Pammolli, Fabio, 2022. "The economic impact of structural and Cohesion Funds across sectors: Immediate, medium-to-long term effects and spillovers," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    2. Panagiotis KOUDOUMAKIS & George BOTZORIS & Angelos PROTOPAPAS, 2021. "The Contribution Of Cohesion Policy To The Development And Convergence Of The Regions Of The European Union," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(2), pages 277-290, June.
    3. Sergio Destefanis & Valter Di Giacinto, 2022. "EU structural funds and GDP per capita: Spatial VAR evidence for the European regions," Discussion Paper series in Regional Science & Economic Geography 2022-09, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Social Sciences, revised Oct 2024.
    4. Sergio Destefanis & Valter Di Giacinto, 2025. "The Heterogeneous Effects of EU Structural Funds: A Spatial VAR Approach," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 497-517, March.
    5. Łukasz Robert Piętak, 2026. "Spillover Effects of Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy in Poland: Spatial Panel Data Analysis for 2007–2020," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1, pages 39-62.
    6. Paolo Di Caro & Ugo Fratesi, 2022. "One policy, different effects: Estimating the region‐specific impacts of EU cohesion policy," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 307-330, January.
    7. Ganau, Roberto & Kilroy, Austin, 2023. "Detecting economic growth pathways in the EU’s lagging regions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115162, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Federico Aresu & Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2026. "EU funds and TFP growth: how the impact changed over time and space," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 75(1), pages 1-35, March.
    9. repec:ptu:bdpart:e202301 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Casas, Pablo & Christou, Tryfonas & García Rodríguez, Abián & Heidelk, Tillmann & Lazarou, Nicholas Joseph & Monfort, Philippe & Salotti, Simone, 2024. "The updated RHOMOLO impact assessment of the 2014-2020 European cohesion policy (including REACT-EU)," MPRA Paper 122873, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Julia Bachtrögler-Unger, 2024. "The Role of Administrative Capacity for an Effective Implementation of EU Cohesion Policy," WIFO Working Papers 688, WIFO.
    12. Pinar, Mehmet & Karahasan, Burhan Can, 2024. "Asymmetric effects of EU cohesion policy on EU regional growth: The role of macroeconomic uncertainty," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    13. Sónia Cabral & Maria Manuel Campos, 2023. "European structural funds and the performance of Portuguese firms," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    14. Ana María López-Villuendas & Cristina Campo, 2024. "The impact of European regional cohesion policy on NUTS 3 disparities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 73(3), pages 1297-1319, October.
    15. Lukasz Pietak, 2025. "Effect of regional disparities on national economic growth. A spatial panel data evidence from EU countries in 2000–2020," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 23(4), pages 1197-1217, December.
    16. Zoltán Bakucs & Imre Fertő & Zsófia Benedek, 2019. "Success or Waste of Taxpayer Money? Impact Assessment of Rural Development Programs in Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Alessandro Cusimano & Fabio Mazzola & Sylvain Barde, 2021. "Place-based policy in southern Italy: evidence from a dose–response approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(8), pages 1442-1458, August.
    18. Julia Bachtrögler & Christoph Hammer & Wolf Heinrich Reuter & Florian Schwendinger, 2019. "Guide to the galaxy of EU regional funds recipients: evidence from new data," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 103-150, February.
    19. Akcomak, Semih & Erdil, Erkan & Cetinkaya, Umut Yılmaz, 2018. "Knowledge convergence in European regions: Towards cohesion?," MERIT Working Papers 2018-027, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    20. Fantechi, Federico & Fratesi, Ugo, 2024. "Spatial patterns of territorial competitiveness: The role of peripherality, urbanization and physical geography," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    21. Mindaugas Butkus & Alma Mačiulytė-Šniukienė & Kristina Matuzevičiūtė & Diana Cibulskienė, . "Does Financial Support from ERDF and CF Contribute to Convergence in the EU? Empirical Evidence at NUTS 3 Level," Prague Economic Papers, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 0, pages 1-43.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aoq:ekonom:y:2025:i:2:p:175-199. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tomasz Kwarcinski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/pteeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.