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Structural Funds and Regional Convergence in Italy

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  • S. Loddo

Abstract

The lack of convergence across Italian Regions has been widely cited as an incontrovertible proof of failure of Cohesion policy. This paper aims to provide a twofold contribution to the debate on the effectiveness of Cohesion policies in Italy. Firstly, we provide an up-to-date view of convergence across Italian regions by focussing on the period covered by regional development policies carried out by European Community. The analysis reveals that poorer regions in Italy have indeed caught up with the richer regions over the period 1994-2004 and much of this convergence process has occurred towards region-specific steady states. Secondly, we consider Structural Funds as a conditioning variable in the convergence equation by using recently available data on expenditure implemented during the Second and the Third Planning Period. Our panel estimates point to a positive and significant impact of the Structural Funds on regional convergence in Italy over the period 1994-2004. When the Structural Funds are considered individually we find that the expenditure allocated by ERDF has medium term positive and significant returns while support to agriculture has short-term positive effects on growth which wane quickly. Finally, our results cast some doubt both on the (i) distributive efficiency of resources allocated by ESF and (ii) on the effectiveness of the intervention policies in support to education, Human capital and employment.

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  • S. Loddo, 2006. "Structural Funds and Regional Convergence in Italy," Working Paper CRENoS 200603, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    • Handle: RePEc:cns:cnscwp:200603
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    Cited by:

    1. Valeria Pupo & Francesco Aiello, 2009. "L'impatto della politica regionale dell'Unione Europea. Uno studio sulle regioni italiane," Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 421-454.
    2. Aiello, Francesco & Pupo, Valeria, 2012. "Structural funds and the economic divide in Italy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 403-418.
    3. Maurizio Conti, 2009. "The Italian Productivity Decline: Evidence from Regional Data," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 68(3), pages 269-309, July.
    4. Lapo Calamai, 2009. "The Link between Devolution and Regional Disparities: Evidence from the Italian Regions," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(5), pages 1129-1151, May.
    5. Francesco Aiello & Valeria Pupo, 2009. "L’Impatto Dei Fondi Strutturali In Italia," Working Papers 200901, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    6. Lukasz Pietak, 2021. "Structural Funds and Convergence in Poland," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 3-37, March.
    7. Daniele, Vittorio, 2009. "Regional convergence and public spending in Italy. Is there a correlation?," MPRA Paper 14334, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Torrisi, Gianpiero & Pike, Andy & Tomaney, John & Tselios, Vassilis, 2011. "(Re-)exploring the link between devolution and regional disparities in Italy," MPRA Paper 32212, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Stefano Magrini, 2007. "Analysing Convergence through the Distribution Dynamics Approach: Why and how?," Working Papers 2007_13, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    10. Luca Simone Rizzo, 2013. "Politiche territoriali UE, sviluppo partecipato e cooperazione. Percorsi, orientamenti, prospettive," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 131-149.
    11. Aiello, Francesco & Pupo, Valeria, 2009. "Capacità di gestione, efficienza istituzionale e impatto dei Fondi Strutturali in Italia [The Impact of Structural Funds in Italy]," MPRA Paper 14429, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Daniele VITTORIO, 2009. "Public Spending And Regional Convergence In Italy," Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, Spiru Haret University, Faculty of Financial Management and Accounting Craiova, vol. 4(2(8)_Summ).
    13. Forte, Francesco & Magazzino, Cosimo & Mantovani, Michela, 2010. "On the failure of European planning for less developed regions. The case of Calabria," MPRA Paper 25527, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. DANIELE, Vittorio, 2009. "Development Policy, Public Spending and Regional Convergence in Italy (1996-2007)," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 9(2).

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