IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0266823.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving the reliability of cohesion policy databases

Author

Listed:
  • Samuele Lo Piano
  • Emanuele Borgonovo
  • Arnald Puy
  • Andrea Saltelli
  • John Walsh
  • Daniele Vidoni

Abstract

In this contribution, we present an innovative data-driven model to reconstruct a reliable temporal pattern for time-lagged statistical monetary figures. Our research cuts across several domains regarding the production of robust economic inferences and the bridging of top-down aggregated information from central databases with disaggregated information obtained from local sources or national statistical offices. Our test bed case study is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The application we discuss deals with the reported time lag between the local expenditures of ERDF by beneficiaries in Italian regions and the corresponding payments reported in the European Commission database. Our model reconstructs the timing of these local expenditures by back-dating the observed European Commission reimbursements. The inferred estimates are then validated against the expenditures reported from the Italian National Managing Authorities (NMAs) in terms of cumulative monetary difference. The lower cumulative yearly distance of our modelled expenditures compared to the official European Commission payments confirms the robustness of our model. Using sensitivity analysis, we also analyse the relative importance of the modelling parameters on the cumulative distance between the modelled and reported expenditures. The parameters with the greatest influence on the uncertainty of this distance are the following: first, how the non-clearly regionalised expenditures are attributed to individual regions; and second, the number of backward years that the residuals of the yearly payments are spread onto. In general, the distance between the modelled and reported expenditures can be further reduced by fixing these parameters. However, the gain is only marginal for some regions. The present study paves the way for modelling exercises that are aimed at more reliable estimates of the expenditures on the ground by the ultimate beneficiaries of European funds. Additionally, the output databases can contribute to enhancing the reliability of econometric studies on the effectiveness of European Union (EU) funds.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuele Lo Piano & Emanuele Borgonovo & Arnald Puy & Andrea Saltelli & John Walsh & Daniele Vidoni, 2022. "Improving the reliability of cohesion policy databases," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(4), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0266823
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266823
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266823
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266823&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0266823?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andr�s Rodr�guez-Pose & Enrique Garcilazo, 2015. "Quality of Government and the Returns of Investment: Examining the Impact of Cohesion Expenditure in European Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1274-1290, August.
    2. Simona Milio, 2007. "Can Administrative Capacity Explain Differences in Regional Performances? Evidence from Structural Funds Implementation in Southern Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 429-442.
    3. Giuseppe Arbia & Julie Le Gallo & Gianfranco Piras, 2008. "Does Evidence on Regional Economic Convergence Depend on the Estimation Strategy? Outcomes from Analysis of a Set of NUTS2 EU Regions," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 209-224.
    4. Salima Bouayad-Agha & Nadine Turpin & Lionel V�drine, 2013. "Fostering the Development of European Regions: A Spatial Dynamic Panel Data Analysis of the Impact of Cohesion Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(9), pages 1573-1593, October.
    5. Borgonovo, Emanuele & Plischke, Elmar, 2016. "Sensitivity analysis: A review of recent advances," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 248(3), pages 869-887.
    6. Roberto Esposti & Stefania Bussoletti, 2008. "Impact of Objective 1 Funds on Regional Growth Convergence in the European Union: A Panel-data Approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 159-173.
    7. Salima Bouayad-Agha & Nadine Turpin & Lionel V�drine, 2013. "Fostering the Development of European Regions: A Spatial Dynamic Panel Data Analysis of the Impact of Cohesion Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(9), pages 1573-1593, October.
    8. Jale Tosun, 2014. "Absorption of Regional Funds: A Comparative Analysis," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 371-387, March.
    9. Plischke, Elmar & Borgonovo, Emanuele & Smith, Curtis L., 2013. "Global sensitivity measures from given data," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 226(3), pages 536-550.
    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. Cerciello, Massimiliano & Agovino, Massimiliano & Garofalo, Antonio, 2019. "The caring hand that cripples? The effects of the European regional policy on local labour market participation in Southern Italy," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 68(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. Mindaugas Butkus & Alma Maciulyte-Sniukiene & Kristina Matuzeviciute, 2020. "Heterogeneous growth outcomes of the EU’s regional financial support mediated by institutions with some empirical evidences at NUTS 3 level," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(1), pages 33-66, April.
    4. Carlos San Juan Mesonada & Carlos Sunyer Manteiga, 2021. "European Structural Funds and Resilient and Recovery Facility Governance," EconPol Working Paper 67, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    5. Ferraro, Aniello & Cerciello, Massimiliano & Agovino, Massimiliano & Garofalo, Antonio, 2021. "Do public policies reduce social exclusion? The role of national and supranational economic tools," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 165-181.
    6. Ignacio Sacristán López-Bravo & Carlos San Juan Mesonada, 2022. "Effects of Policy Mix on European Regional Convergence," EconPol Working Paper 73, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    7. Juan Cándido Gómez‐Gallego & María del Rocío Moreno‐Enguix & María Gómez‐Gallego, 2022. "The relation between the index of economic freedom and good governance with efficiency of the European Structural Funds," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(2), pages 327-349, April.
    8. Martina Vukašina & Ines Kersan-Škabiæ & Edvard Orliæ, 2022. "Impact of European structural and investment funds absorption on the regional development in the EU–12 (new member states)," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 17(4), pages 857-880, December.
    9. Ekaterina Domorenok & Paolo Graziano & Laura Polverari, 2021. "Policy integration, policy design and administrative capacities. Evidence from EU cohesion policy [Joined-up Government in the Western World in comparative perspective: A preliminary literature rev," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(1), pages 58-78.
    10. Filip Hruza & Stanislav Volcík & Jan Žácek, 2019. "The Impact of EU Funds on Regional Economic Growth of the Czech Republic," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 69(1), pages 76-94, February.
    11. Nicola Francesco Dotti, 2016. "Unwritten Factors Affecting Structural Funds: The Influence of Regional Political Behaviours on the Implementation of EU Cohesion Policy," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 530-550, March.
    12. Marco Di Cataldo, 2016. "Gaining and losing EU Objective 1 funds: Regional development in Britain and the prospect of Brexit," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 120, European Institute, LSE.
    13. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Daniele Biancardi & Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo & Federico Biagi, 2019. "Study on Higher Education Institutions and Local Development," JRC Research Reports JRC117272, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Marco Di Cataldo & Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2020. "Regional needs, regional targeting and regional growth: an assessment of EU Cohesion Policy in UK regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(1), pages 35-47, January.
    15. Mesquita, José & Pereira dos Santos, João & Tavares, José, 2023. "European Funds and Firm Performance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 16526, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Sandy Dall'Erba & Fang Fang, 2017. "Meta-analysis of the impact of European Union Structural Funds on regional growth," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 822-832, June.
    17. Le Ma & Chunlu Liu, 2014. "Did the late-2000s financial crisis influence construction labour productivity?," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(10), pages 1030-1047, October.
    18. Claudio Di Berardino & Giuseppe Mauro & Davide Quaglione & Alessandro Sarra, 2017. "Structural change and the sustainability of regional convergence: Evidence from the Italian regions," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 289-311, March.
    19. Gabriel, José Mesquita & dos Santos, João Pereira & Tavares, José, 2022. "European funds and firm performance: Evidence from a natural experiment," Ruhr Economic Papers 966, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0266823. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.