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The EU Structural Funds as a Means to hamper Migration

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  • Peter Schmidt

Abstract

Comparing the economic development and current situation of the internal markets of the U.S. and the EU, two things are noticeable. On the one hand, the EU is conducting massive regional policy programmes (notably the Structural Funds) to foster economic cohesion among the 27 nations belonging to the Single European Market while in the U.S. with its 50 federal states such policies play a rather subordinate role. At the first glance, this seems to be consistent with the situation in this two markets because in the U.S. only 2% of the total population lives in regions with less than 75% of the US-average GDP per capita while in the EU approximately 31% of the total population lives in such regions eligible for structural funds support. In other words, regional policies in the U.S. would be redundant. But taking a closer look, on the other hand, reveals that the internal mobility of U.S. citizens is significantly higher than that of EU citizens. According to the neoclassical economic theory migration, besides the free flow of goods, services and capital, plays an important role in assuring convergence or economic cohesion, respectively. Following this strand of theory no regional policy is needed to achieve convergence among the regions or nations of a common market. Thus, comparing the two internal markets, the question comes up if the lower degree of economic cohesion in the EU has something to do with the lower internal market mobility of EU citizens and a higher degree of structural intervention of the EU regional policy? To answer this question, the paper consists of three parts. First, the theoretical background concerning migration and the potential need for regional policy is presented, to find out if one of them is a better instrument to achieve a balanced economic development within an internal market. In the second part, we discuss the actual situation of internal migration and examine why migration rates are comparatively low in the EU. In the last part, the interrelation between the EU regional policy and (internal) migration are analysed. Besides other things like language, culture or institutions this paper is going to argue that structural funds are inhibiting internal migration, which is one of the key measures in achieving convergence among the nations in the Single European market. It becomes clear, that the European regional policy aiming at economic cohesion among the 27 member states is inconsistent if the structural funds hamper instead of promoting migration. JEL-Classification: E62, F15, F22 Keywords: Migration, Structural Funds, European Integration Other chosen themes: N. Regional strategies and policies E. Finance and regional development

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  • Peter Schmidt, 2012. "The EU Structural Funds as a Means to hamper Migration," ERSA conference papers ersa12p383, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa12p383
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    Cited by:

    1. Augusto Cerqua & Guido Pellegrini & Ornella Tarola, 2022. "Can regional policies shape migration flows?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(3), pages 515-536, June.
    2. Timo Mitze & Torben Schmidt, 2015. "Internal migration, regional labor markets and the role of agglomeration economies," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(1), pages 61-101, October.
    3. Peter Schmidt, 2016. "Internal migration and EU regional policy transfer payments: A panel data analysis for the EU-28 member countries," ERSA conference papers ersa16p172, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Timo Mitze, 2019. "The migration response to local labour market shocks: Evidence from EU regions during the global economic crisis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 81(2), pages 271-298, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; structural funds; european integration other chosen themes: n. regional strategies and policies e. finance and regional development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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