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U. Fratesi and G. Perucca
regional policy. In the words of Jacques Delors, “all regions of the Community
ought to be able to share progressively in these benefits. (…) It is for this reason that
the ‘transparency’ of the large market should be facilitated by supporting the efforts
of regions with ill-adapted structures and those in the throes of painful restructuring.
Community policies can be of assistance to these regions, which in no way absolves
them from assuming their own responsibilities and from making their own effort”
(Delors 1987, p. 7).
Therefore, the ultimate goal of regional policy is, through the promotion of socioeconomic development in regions less favored by European integration, to reinforce
territorial cohesion within the EU. For this reason, the EU regional policy is often
labeled as Cohesion Policy.
The assessment of Cohesion Policy is fundamental to understand whether this
target has been achieved. A long stream of research has focused on this issue, with the
aim of measuring the net impact of EU regional policy on the development of regions,
mainly interpreted in terms of GDP and employment growth. Empirical evidence of a
positive association between CP funding and economic prosperity, however, appeared
to be inconsistent across studies (Dall’Erba and Le Gallo 2008; Becker et al. 2012),
especially because there are empirical and conceptual issues which cannot yet be
reconciled (Fratesi 2016): Whether Cohesion Policy had a positive effect on regional
development or not, is still an open question in the literature.
The group of regional and urban economics formulated a hypothesis for explaining the divergence of empirical results from previous studies. According to this
hypothesis, the way in which Communitarian policies are implemented and their
effectiveness, can change substantially due to certain specific territorial assets characterizing EU regions. In other words, the territory and, more specifically, the territorial capital of regions, is not neutral in the mechanism through which policy
implementation generates development. Instead, specific characteristics of regions
mediate the impact of Cohesion Policy, and it is therefore necessary to keep them in
mind in the policy assessment.
Stemming from this assumption, the aim of the research program of the group
of regional and urban economics was to understand and measure the differentiated
effects of EU regional policy across different territories. More precisely, the association between the territory and Cohesion Policy addressed three main issues:
– territorial capital and the allocation of Cohesion Policy funds: As stated above,
Cohesion Policy focuses on a variety of policy targets. It is therefore important to
study the relationship between regional characteristics and the allocation of funding across different policy needs because it allows us to understand and improve
the allocation mechanisms.
– territorial capital and the effectiveness of Cohesion Policy: The effect of EU
regional policy on regional development is assumed to be differentiated, according
to the regional endowment of territorial capital.
– territorial capital and the development of regions: Apart from the direct association
between territorial capital and Cohesion Policy, it is relevant to fully understand
U. Fratesi and G. Perucca
regional policy. In the words of Jacques Delors, “all regions of the Community
ought to be able to share progressively in these benefits. (…) It is for this reason that
the ‘transparency’ of the large market should be facilitated by supporting the efforts
of regions with ill-adapted structures and those in the throes of painful restructuring.
Community policies can be of assistance to these regions, which in no way absolves
them from assuming their own responsibilities and from making their own effort”
(Delors 1987, p. 7).
Therefore, the ultimate goal of regional policy is, through the promotion of socioeconomic development in regions less favored by European integration, to reinforce
territorial cohesion within the EU. For this reason, the EU regional policy is often
labeled as Cohesion Policy.
The assessment of Cohesion Policy is fundamental to understand whether this
target has been achieved. A long stream of research has focused on this issue, with the
aim of measuring the net impact of EU regional policy on the development of regions,
mainly interpreted in terms of GDP and employment growth. Empirical evidence of a
positive association between CP funding and economic prosperity, however, appeared
to be inconsistent across studies (Dall’Erba and Le Gallo 2008; Becker et al. 2012),
especially because there are empirical and conceptual issues which cannot yet be
reconciled (Fratesi 2016): Whether Cohesion Policy had a positive effect on regional
development or not, is still an open question in the literature.
The group of regional and urban economics formulated a hypothesis for explaining the divergence of empirical results from previous studies. According to this
hypothesis, the way in which Communitarian policies are implemented and their
effectiveness, can change substantially due to certain specific territorial assets characterizing EU regions. In other words, the territory and, more specifically, the territorial capital of regions, is not neutral in the mechanism through which policy
implementation generates development. Instead, specific characteristics of regions
mediate the impact of Cohesion Policy, and it is therefore necessary to keep them in
mind in the policy assessment.
Stemming from this assumption, the aim of the research program of the group
of regional and urban economics was to understand and measure the differentiated
effects of EU regional policy across different territories. More precisely, the association between the territory and Cohesion Policy addressed three main issues:
– territorial capital and the allocation of Cohesion Policy funds: As stated above,
Cohesion Policy focuses on a variety of policy targets. It is therefore important to
study the relationship between regional characteristics and the allocation of funding across different policy needs because it allows us to understand and improve
the allocation mechanisms.
– territorial capital and the effectiveness of Cohesion Policy: The effect of EU
regional policy on regional development is assumed to be differentiated, according
to the regional endowment of territorial capital.
– territorial capital and the development of regions: Apart from the direct association
between territorial capital and Cohesion Policy, it is relevant to fully understand