IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirc/v30y2012i2p267-281.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of EU Structural Funds on Regional Disparities within Member States

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas P Kyriacou

    (Departament d'Economia, Universitat de Girona, Campus de Montilivi, 17071, Girona, Spain)

  • Oriol Roca-Sagalés

    (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Bellaterra 08193, Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

We examine the impact of structural and cohesion funds on regional disparities within EU countries over the period 1995–2006. We find that structural funds have reduced regional disparities over this period. Our empirical estimates also suggest that the effect of structural funds on regional disparities is potentially reversed above some level of transfer intensity (approximately 1.6% of country gross domestic product). This has implications for the desirable allocation of the funds across countries especially since, in the current programming period (2007–13), all the new member states of the Union except for Cyprus and Malta have a transfer intensity which exceeds this threshold.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas P Kyriacou & Oriol Roca-Sagalés, 2012. "The Impact of EU Structural Funds on Regional Disparities within Member States," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 30(2), pages 267-281, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:30:y:2012:i:2:p:267-281
    DOI: 10.1068/c11140r
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/c11140r
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/c11140r?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. Cornelius Bähr, 2008. "How does Sub‐National Autonomy Affect the Effectiveness of Structural Funds?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, February.
    2. 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.
    3. Sjef Ederveen & Henri L.F. de Groot & Richard Nahuis, 2006. "Fertile Soil for Structural Funds?A Panel Data Analysis of the Conditional Effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 17-42, February.
    4. Acemoglu, Daron & Johnson, Simon & Robinson, James A., 2005. "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 385-472, Elsevier.
    5. 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.
    6. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2010. "Going NUTS: The effect of EU Structural Funds on regional performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(9-10), pages 578-590, October.
    7. Diego Puga, 2002. "European regional policies in light of recent location theories," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 373-406, October.
    8. Mohl, P. & Hagen, T., 2010. "Do EU structural funds promote regional growth? New evidence from various panel data approaches," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 353-365, September.
    9. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    10. Christian Lessmann, 2009. "Fiscal Decentralization and Regional Disparity: Evidence from Cross-Section and Panel Data," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(10), pages 2455-2473, October.
    11. 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.
    12. Maaike Beugelsdijk & Sylvester C.W. Eijffinger, 2005. "The Effectiveness of Structural Policy in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis for the EU‐15 in 1995–2001," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 37-51, March.
    13. Rodriguez-Pose, Andres & Gill, Nicholas, 2006. "How does trade affect regional disparities?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1201-1222, July.
    14. Riccardo regstdcenzi, 2009. "Undermining the Principle of Concentration? European Union Regional Policy and the Socio-economic Disadvantage of European Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 111-133.
    15. Ramajo, Julián & Márquez, Miguel A. & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D. & Salinas, María M., 2008. "Spatial heterogeneity and interregional spillovers in the European Union: Do cohesion policies encourage convergence across regions?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 551-567, April.
    16. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2006. "Governance matters V: aggregate and individual governance indicators for 1996 - 2005," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4012, The World Bank.
    17. Philippe Aghion, 2005. "Growth and Institutions," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 3-18, March.
    18. Andres RodrIguez-Pose & Ugo Fratesi†, 2004. "Between Development and Social Policies: The Impact of European Structural Funds in Objective 1 Regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 97-113.
    19. Giannetti, Mariassunta, 2002. "The effects of integration on regional disparities: Convergence, divergence or both?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 539-567, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andreas P. Kyriacou & Leonel Muinelo-Gallo & Oriol Roca-Sagalés, 2018. "The efficiency of transport infrastructure investment and the role of institutions: an empirical analysis," Working Papers. Collection B: Regional and sectoral economics 1802, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    2. 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.
    3. Elzbieta Ociepa-Kicinska & Rafal Czyzycki & Piotr Szklarz & Rafal Kloska, 2021. "Impact of EU Funds on the Level of Regional Socio-Economic Development: The Case of Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2B), pages 328-362.
    4. Ali Bokhari & Farahnaz Sharifi, 2023. "Simultaneous Inequity of Elderly Residents in Melbourne Metropolitan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    5. 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).
    6. Julia Bachtrögler & Christoph Hammer & Wolf Heinrich Reuter & Florian Schwendinger, 2017. "Spotlight on the beneficiaries of EU regional funds: A new firm-level dataset," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp246, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    7. 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.
    8. Roberta Arbolino & Raffaele Boffardi, 2017. "The Impact of Institutional Quality and Efficient Cohesion Investments on Economic Growth Evidence from Italian Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-17, August.
    9. Valentin-Marian Antohi & Monica Laura Zlati & Romeo Victor Ionescu & Mihaela Neculita & Raluca Rusu & Aurelian Constantin, 2020. "Attracting European Funds in the Romanian Economy and Leverage Points for Securing their Sustainable Management: A Critical Auditing Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-27, July.
    10. Gill Bentley & Lee Pugalis, 2013. "New directions in economic development: Localist policy discourses and the Localism Act," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 28(3), pages 257-274, May.
    11. Iwona Bąk & Katarzyna Wawrzyniak & Maciej Oesterreich, 2022. "Competitiveness of the Regions of the European Union in a Sustainable Knowledge-Based Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, March.
    12. Roberto Ezcurra & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2017. "Does ethnic segregation matter for spatial inequality?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(6), pages 1149-1178.
    13. Kyriacou, Andreas P. & Muinelo-Gallo, Leonel & Roca-Sagalés, Oriol, 2019. "The efficiency of transport infrastructure investment and the role of government quality: An empirical analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 93-102.
    14. Mindaugas Butkus & Alma Maciulyte-Sniukiene & Renata Macaitiene & Kristina Matuzeviciute, 2021. "A New Approach to Examine Non-Linear and Mediated Growth and Convergence Outcomes of Cohesion Policy," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-28, July.
    15. Benito Giordano, 2017. "Exploring the role of the ERDF in regions with specific geographical features: islands, mountainous and sparsely populated areas," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 869-879, June.
    16. 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.
    17. Gabriela Chivu & Romana Emilia Cramarenco, 2021. "On Regional Development In Poland And Romania," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 15(1), pages 77-97, JUNE.
    18. 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).
    19. Mazzeo Rinaldi, Francesco, 2016. "From local development policies to strategic planning—Assessing continuity in institutional coalitions," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 76-87.
    20. Masayoshi Hayashi, 2013. "On the Decomposition of Regional Stabilization and Redistribution," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-910, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    21. Andreas P. Kyriacou & Leonel Muinelo-Gallo & Oriol Roca-Sagalés, 2015. "Regional inequalities, fiscal decentralization and government quality: empirical evidence from simultaneous equations," Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization 1501, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    22. Mindaugas Butkus & Alma Mačiulytė-Šniukienė & Kristina Matuzevičiūtė, 2020. "Mediating Effects of Cohesion Policy and Institutional Quality on Convergence between EU Regions: An Examination Based on a Conditional Beta-Convergence Model with a 3-Way Multiplicative Term," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-37, April.
    23. 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.
    24. Roberta Arbolino & Raffaele Boffardi & Luisa De Simone, 2019. "Which are the Factors Influencing Innovation Performances? Evidence from Italian Cohesion Policy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 221-247, November.

    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. 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.
    3. Riccardo Crescenzi & Fabrizio De Filippis & Fabio Pierangeli, 2015. "In Tandem for Cohesion? Synergies and Conflicts between Regional and Agricultural Policies of the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 681-704, April.
    4. Tobias Hagen & Philipp Mohl, 2011. "Econometric Evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy: A Survey," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume III, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. 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.
    6. Mazzeo Rinaldi, Francesco, 2016. "From local development policies to strategic planning—Assessing continuity in institutional coalitions," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 76-87.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Marcos Diaz, 2020. "Three essays on development economics : public policies and geographical discontinuities," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/6rl0q151go8, Sciences Po.
    10. Enrico Fabrizi & Gianni Guastella & Stefano Marta & Francesco Timpano, 2016. "Determinants of Intra-Distribution Dynamics in European Regions: An Empirical Assessment of the Role of Structural Intervention," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(5), pages 522-539, December.
    11. Elena Calegari & Enrico Fabrizi & Gianni Guastella & Francesco Timpano, 2021. "EU regional convergence in the agricultural sector: Are there synergies between agricultural and regional policies?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(1), pages 23-50, February.
    12. Albanese, Giuseppe & Carrieri, Vincenzo & Speziali, Maria Maddalena, 2021. "Looking for a Star: Evaluating the Effect of the Cohesion Policy on Regional Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 14521, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6rl0q151go8ekafctsk703ouq9 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Lukasz Pietak, 2021. "Structural Funds and Convergence in Poland," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 3-37, March.
    15. Mohl, P. & Hagen, T., 2010. "Do EU structural funds promote regional growth? New evidence from various panel data approaches," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 353-365, September.
    16. Jan Fidrmuc & Martin Hulényi & Olga Zajkowska, 2019. "The Elusive Quest for the Holy Grail of an Impact of EU Funds on Regional Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 7989, CESifo.
    17. Salima Bouayad-Agha & Nadine Turpin & Lionel Védrine, 2010. "Fostering the potential endogenous development of European regions: a spatial dynamic panel data analysis of the Cohesion Policy on regional convergence over the period 1980-2005," TEPP Working Paper 2010-17, TEPP.
    18. Fratesi, Ugo & Perucca, Giovanni, 2014. "Territorial Capital and the Effectiveness of Cohesion Policies: an Assessment for CEE Regions," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 29, pages 165-191.
    19. 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.
    20. Breidenbach, Philipp & Mitze, Timo & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2016. "EU structural funds and regional income convergence: A sobering experience," Ruhr Economic Papers 608, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    21. 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.

    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:sae:envirc:v:30:y:2012:i:2:p:267-281. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.