IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/zewdip/312186.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The role of administrative capacity for an effective implementation of EU cohesion policy

Author

Listed:
  • Bachtrögler, Julia

Abstract

This reflection paper examines the influence of administrative capacity on the absorption and effective use of Cohesion Policy funds. First, it examines the current level of absorption of Cohesion Policy funds in the 2014-2020 programming period. Second, a literature review on the relationship between administrative capacity and the absorption of Cohesion Policy funds highlights the factors affecting the availability of administrative resources. Third, the role of administrative capacity for the effectiveness of funds usage in EU regions is discussed. The literature concludes that the effects of Cohesion Policy are heterogeneous across regions. Administrative capacity is an important element of a region's absorptive capacity, also due to the project selection process through managing authorities. Therefore, measures should be taken to attract motivated and well-qualified staff and to ensure communication and coordination with stakeholders and other relevant bodies. Finally, a recent study on regional development opportunities of green and digital technologies is presented, pointing to the knowledge of administrative staff about regional characteristics and capabilities as essential contribution to "good" policy implementation

Suggested Citation

  • Bachtrögler, Julia, 2024. "The role of administrative capacity for an effective implementation of EU cohesion policy," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-067, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:312186
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/312186/1/dp24067.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sascha O. Becker & Peter H. Egger & Maximilian von Ehrlich, 2013. "Absorptive Capacity and the Growth and Investment Effects of Regional Transfers: A Regression Discontinuity Design with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 29-77, November.
    2. Eirini Aivazidou & Giovanni Cunico & Edoardo Mollona, 2020. "Beyond the EU Structural Funds’ Absorption Rate: How Do Regions Really Perform?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-24, July.
    3. Riccardo Crescenzi & Mara Giua, 2020. "One or many Cohesion Policies of the European Union? On the differential economic impacts of Cohesion Policy across member states," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(1), pages 10-20, January.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Jeffrey B. Liebman & Neale Mahoney, 2017. "Do Expiring Budgets Lead to Wasteful Year-End Spending? Evidence from Federal Procurement," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(11), pages 3510-3549, November.
    7. Blouri, Yashar & Ehrlich, Maximilian V., 2020. "On the optimal design of place-based policies: A structural evaluation of EU regional transfers," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    8. John Bachtler & Carlos Mendez & Hildegard Oraže, 2014. "From Conditionality to Europeanization in Central and Eastern Europe: Administrative Performance and Capacity in Cohesion Policy," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 735-757, April.
    9. 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.
    10. Julia Bachtrögler & Ugo Fratesi & Giovanni Perucca, 2020. "The influence of the local context on the implementation and impact of EU Cohesion Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(1), pages 21-34, January.
    11. Lee Mizell & Dorothée Allain-Dupré, 2013. "Creating Conditions for Effective Public Investment: Sub-national Capacities in a Multi-level Governance Context," OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2013/4, OECD Publishing.
    12. 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.
    13. Zaman, Gheorghe & Georgescu, George, 2009. "Structural Fund Absorption: A New Challenge For Romania?," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 6(1), pages 136-154, March.
    14. Valentina Aiello & Pierre Maurice Reverberi & Cristina Brasili, 2019. "Regional diversity in experiences of cohesion policy: The cases of Emilia‐Romagna and Calabria," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(6), pages 2275-2293, December.
    15. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    16. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2018. "Effects of EU Regional Policy: 1989-2013," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 143-152.
    17. Cristian Incaltarau & Gabriela Carmen Pascariu & Neculai‐Cristian Surubaru, 2020. "Evaluating the Determinants of EU Funds Absorption across Old and New Member States – the Role of Administrative Capacity and Political Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 941-961, July.
    18. 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.
    19. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Ron Boschma & Joan Crespo & David L. Rigby, 2019. "Smart specialization policy in the European Union: relatedness, knowledge complexity and regional diversification," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1252-1268, September.
    20. Julia Bachtrögler, 2016. "On the effectiveness of EU structural funds during the Great Recession: Estimates from a heterogeneous local average treatment effects framework," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp230, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    21. Jale Tosun, 2014. "Absorption of Regional Funds: A Comparative Analysis," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 371-387, March.
    22. 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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. R. Paci & E. Marrocu & F. Aresu, 2024. "EU funds and TFP growth: how the impact changed over time and space," Working Paper CRENoS 202412, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    7. 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.
    8. Eirini Aivazidou & Giovanni Cunico & Edoardo Mollona, 2020. "Beyond the EU Structural Funds’ Absorption Rate: How Do Regions Really Perform?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-24, July.
    9. Bachtrögler, Julia & Hammer, Christoph & Reuter, Wolf Heinrich & Schwendinger, Florian, 2017. "Spotlight on the beneficiaries of EU regional funds: A new firm-level dataset," Working Papers 02/2017, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung.
    10. 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.
    11. 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).
    12. Coco, Giuseppe & Monturano, Gianluca & Resce, Giuliano, 2025. "Predicting Delays in Cohesion Infrastructure Projects," Economics & Statistics Discussion Papers esdp25099, University of Molise, Department of Economics.
    13. Fusaro, Stefano & Scandurra, Rosario, 2023. "The impact of the European social fund on youth education and employment," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Bachtrögler, Julia, 2016. "On the effectiveness of EU structural funds during the Great Recession: Estimates from a heterogeneous local average treatment effects framework," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 230, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    16. 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.
    17. Di Stefano, Roberta & Resce, Giuliano, 2025. "The determinants of missed funding: Predicting the paradox of increased need and reduced allocation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    18. 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.
    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. repec:ptu:bdpart:e202301 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Carlos San Juan Mesonada & Carlos Sunyer Manteiga, 2020. "European Structural and Investment Funds and Regional Convergence: The Impact of Public Deficit in Beta-Convergence," EconPol Working Paper 47, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    EU budget; cohesion policy; administrative capacity; absorption; regional policy implementation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H83 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Public Administration
    • H87 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - International Fiscal Issues; International Public Goods
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:zbw:zewdip:312186. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zemande.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.