IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ora/journl/v1y2012i2p63-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Together Or Apart? Structural Funds And Real Convergence In The New Member States

Author

Listed:
  • Alexe Ileana

    (Academia de Studii Economice Bucuresti, Relatii Economice Internationale)

  • Tatomir Cristina Flavia

    (Academia de Studii Economice Bucuresti, Relatii Economice Internationale)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between the structural funds provided by the European Union (EU) and the real convergence of the New Member States that joined the EU in 2004. We also assess the effect of the crisis on this. According to the empirical studies in this area, the impact can be both negative and positive. Furthermore, in the latter case, the correlation is not very strong and depends on several factors. To meet the research objective, we have structured this paper into five parts. In the first part, we make a short presentation of the Cohesion policy and its evolution in time. In the second part, we explore the importance of the subject in the economic literature. In the third one, we explain the methodology used in this paper. We contribute to the literature by creating a Real Convergence Index (RCI) and by assessing the evolution of this index and of the structural funds payments from 2004 until 2010 in five New Member States (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia). The fourth part describes the results obtained. The structural funds payments reached a maximum level in 2007 in all the countries, with the exception of Slovenia. After this point, they recorded decreasing levels, mainly because of the economic and financial crisis. Within this group of countries, Poland and Slovakia recorded an increase in RCI during 2009 and 2010, even though the amounts of payments started decreasing. The highest level of structural funds payments and the maximum level of RCI are not synchronized, with the exception of the Czech Republic. This could come as a result of the lagging effects of structural funds on the economic convergence. The fifth part of the paper summarizes the conclusions of our research. The analysis confirms the previous work in this field. Specifically, it does not provide us with a clear result regarding the relationship between the absorption of structural funds and the real convergence. The implications for Romania are not very encouraging. This means that the efforts for increasing the absorption rate of EU funds will not necessarily lead to a faster real convergence process. Consequently, the effectiveness of the Cohesion policy remains under question.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexe Ileana & Tatomir Cristina Flavia, 2012. "Together Or Apart? Structural Funds And Real Convergence In The New Member States," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 63-69, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ora:journl:v:1:y:2012:i:2:p:63-69
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://anale.steconomiceuoradea.ro/volume/2012/n2/007.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/9343 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/9343 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Philippe Martin, 1999. "Are European regional policies delivering?," Post-Print hal-01011168, HAL.
    4. Karen Helene Midelfart-Knarvik & Henry G. Overman, 2002. "Delocation and European integration: is structural spending justified? [‘Specialization patterns in Europe’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 17(35), pages 321-359.
    5. 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.
    6. Philippe Martin, 1999. "Are European regional policies delivering?," SciencePo Working papers hal-01011168, HAL.
    7. Michael H. Stierle, 2005. "Conditions for a contribution by the Structural Funds to real convergence of the Recently Acceded Member States," ERSA conference papers ersa05p596, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Sjed Ederveen & Joeri Gorter & Ruud de Mooij & Richard Nahuis, 2003. "Funds and Games: The Economics of European Cohesion Policy," Occasional Papers 03, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes.
    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. Zsuzsanna Tron, 2009. "Examining the impact of European regional policy," IWE Working Papers 188, Institute for World Economics - Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    2. Zsuzsanna Tron, 2009. "Evaluation Methods of European Regional Policy and Reasons for Different Outcomes," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 12(32), pages 149-185, (2).
    3. Sarantis Lolos, 2009. "The effect of EU structural funds on regional growth: assessing the evidence from Greece, 1990–2005," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 211-228, August.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Alessandro Borin & Elisa Macchi & Michele Mancini, 2021. "EU transfers and euroscepticism: can’t buy me love?," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 36(106), pages 237-286.
    8. Chen, Mingli, 2016. "Estimation of Nonlinear Panel Models with Multiple Unobserved Effects," Economic Research Papers 269326, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    9. Alexandra Sotiriou & Maria Tsiapa, 2015. "The asymmetric influence of structural funds on regional growth in Greece," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 33(4), pages 863-881, August.
    10. Asteris Huliaras & Sotiris Petropoulos, 2016. "European Money in Greece: In Search of the Real Impact of EU Structural Funds," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 1332-1349, November.
    11. Gruševaja, Marina & Pusch, Toralf, 2011. "How does Institutional Setting Affect the Impact of EU Structural Funds on Economic Cohesion? New Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," IWH Discussion Papers 17/2011, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Mohl, Philipp & Hagen, Tobias, 2008. "Does EU Cohesion Policy Promote Growth? Evidence from Regional Data and Alternative Econometric Approaches," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-086, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Łukasz Komorowski & Agata Mróz & Monika Stanny, 2020. "The Spatial Pattern of the Absorption of Cohesion Policy Funds in Polish Rural Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Dahl, Juliana, 2013. "Innovation and growth in regions with specific geographical features," Kiel Advanced Studies Working Papers 463, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    15. Riccardo Crescenzi & Mara Giua, 2016. "The EU Cohesion Policy in context: Does a bottom-up approach work in all regions?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(11), pages 2340-2357, November.
    16. Sandy Dall'erba & Julie Le Gallo, 2008. "Regional convergence and the impact of European structural funds over 1989–1999: A spatial econometric analysis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(2), pages 219-244, June.
    17. Cornelius Bähr & Ulrike Stierle‐von Schütz & Matthias Wrede, 2007. "Dezentralisierung in den EU‐Staaten und räumliche Verteilung wirtschaftlicher Aktivitäten," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(2), pages 110-129, March.
    18. Bianka Dettmer & Thomas Sauer, 2019. "Implementation of European Cohesion Policy at the sub‐national level: Evidence from beneficiary data in Eastern Germany," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(1), pages 167-189, February.
    19. Meunier, Olivier & Mignolet , Michel & Mulquin, Marie-Eve, 2007. "Interpersonal transfers: Do they impact the growth of poor and rich European regions?," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 10, pages 155-170.
    20. Adriana Z. F. C. Nishimura & Ana Moreira & Manuel Au-Yong-Oliveira & Maria José Sousa, 2021. "Effectiveness of the Portugal 2020 Programme: A Study from the Citizens’ Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Structural Funds; Cohesion policy; Real Convergence Index; New Members States; European Union;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    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:ora:journl:v:1:y:2012:i:2:p:63-69. 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: Catalin ZMOLE (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feoraro.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.