Open Conference Systems, 50th Scientific meeting of the Italian Statistical Society

Font Size: 
How effective are the regional policies in Europe? The role of European Funds
Gennaro Punzo, Mariateresa Ciommi, Gaetano Musella

Last modified: 2018-05-26

Abstract


The European Structural and Investment Funds are the leading policy instrument through which the EU encourages growth-enhancing conditions for less well-off regions in order to make territorial cohesion within countries. In this work, we perform the Difference in Differences technique to assess the effectiveness of the 2007-2013 EU funding in achieving the convergence in employment levels across NUTS2 regions. Controlling for the socio-economic background at the regional level, a special focus is devoted to Italy. Some empirical results suggest that the EU funding was not effective enough to help the convergence for most countries.

References


  1. Acemoglu, D., Robinson, J.: The role of institutions in growth and development. World Bank, Washington DC. (2008)
  2. Arbia G., Le Gallo J., Piras, G.: Does evidence on regional economic convergence depend on the estimation strategy? Outcomes from analysis of a set of NUTS2 EU regions. Spatial economic analysis 3(2), 209-224 (2008)
  3. Ashenfelter, O.: Estimating the Effect of Training Programs on Earnings. Review of Economics and Statistics 60, 47-57 (1978)
  4. Bähr C.: How does sub-national autonomy affect the effectiveness of structural funds?. Kyklos 61(1), 3-18 (2008)
  5. Becker S.O., Egger P.H., Von Ehrlich M.: Effects of EU Regional Policy: 1989-2013. Reginal Science and Urban Economics 69, 143-152 (2018).
  6. Boltho, A., Glyn, A.: Can macroeconomic policies raise employment. International Labour Review 134, 451-470 (1995)
  7. Castellano R., Musella G., Punzo G.: Structure of the labour market and wage inequality: evidence from European countries. Quality & Quantity 51(5), 2191-2218 (2017)
  8. Di Liberto, A., Sideri, M.: Past dominations, current institutions and the Italian regional economic performance. European Journal of Political Economy 38, 12-41 (2015)
  9. European Commission: An agenda for new skills and jobs: A European contribution towards full employment (2010)
  10. European Commission: European Structural and Investments Funds 2014-2020: Official text and commentaries. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union (2015)
  11. Garofalo A., Castellano R., Punzo G., Musella G.: Skills and labour incomes: how unequal is Italy as part of the Southern European countries? Quality & Quantity 1-30 (2017)
  12. Huo J., Nelson M., Stephens J.: Decommodification and activation in social democratic policy: resolving the paradox. Journal of European Social policy 18, 5-20 (2008)
  13. Mohl P., Hagen, T.: Do EU structural funds promote regional growth? New evidence from various panel data approaches. Regional Science and Urban Economics 40(5), 353-365 (2010)
  14. Mora, R., Reggio, I.: didq: A command for treatment-effect estimation under alternative assumptions. Stata Journal 15(3), 796-808 (2015)
  15. Nifo, A., Vecchione, G.: Do institutions play a role in skilled migration? The case of Italy. Regional Studies 48(10), 1628-1649 (2014).
  16. Padalino, S., Vivarelli, M.: The employment intensity of economic growth in the G-7 countries. International Labour Review 136, 191-213 (1997)
  17. Rodríguez-Pose, A.: Do institutions matter for regional development? Regional Studies 47(7), 1034-1047 (2013)
  18. Seyfried, W.: Examining the relationship between employment and economic growth in the ten largest states. Southwestern Economic Review 32, 13-24 (2011)

Full Text: DOC