This paper analyzes the growth and employment effects of the 1994-99 Community Support Framework (CSF) for the Objective 1 Spanish regions using a simple supply-side model estimated with a panel of regional data. The results suggest that the impact of the Structural Funds in Spain has been quite...

Beginning in 1989, the European Union started targeting its Structural Funds business incentives geographically to industrial areas that have been facing above average unemployment and industrial job loss. Although billions of euros have been invested in these Objective 2 areas, very little is...

The study is based on the critical observations that the competitive market forces alone are not able to assure the convergence with the developed countries. These observations are grounded on the results of the computation of the marginal capital rate of return, as well as the real process of...

The present work examines the reasons that gave rise to European Regional Policy and describes its principles and basic objectives, as well as the operational transformations it underwent from the 1988 Structural Fund reform till the approval of the Agenda 2000. Its ability to correct regional...

The present paper first describes the European Union’s structural policy framework for the 2000-2006 period, setting out the objectives and instruments and highlighting the funding granted by the European Council in 1999. In this context, the second part of the paper aims to describe the...

This paper addresses the potential impact of the current European Union (EU) enlargement process on EU economic and social cohesion programmes. The first part highlights the reason why enlargement is a priority for the EU and explains the pre-enlargement strategy carried out in the nineties. The...

At the door of the XXI century, the Agenda 2000 and the agreements reached at the European Council of Berlin opened the possibility for a new design of European policies. The three fundamental aspects discussed were: the reformulation of Structures Policy, the reformulation of Common Agrarian...

This paper addresses the recent European Social Fund (ESF) reform and the possible consequences for Social Economy. The reform was adopted in 1999 and applies to the period from 2000 to 2006. After a brief overview of the European Social Fund since it was created in 1957, the main features to...

In this study we look at whether the seven Portuguese NUTS II regions have been able to share equally in the country’s overall growth or whether there have been asymmetries and divergences in their growth patterns. We assess the regional impact of a wide range of Portuguese domestic policies...