The impact of the 2014–2020 European Structural Funds on territorial cohesion

Abstract

We assess the macroeconomic impact of the European Union Cohesion Policy investments deployed during the 2014–20 programming period, with a particular focus on territorial cohesion and regional disparities. We use a spatial dynamic general equilibrium (RHOMOLO) to quantify the direct and indirect effects of the policy investments in the NUTS-2 regions of the European Union within a 20-year time frame. The results suggest that the impact of the policy is sizeable, especially in the less developed regions of the European Union. Accordingly, socio-economic disparities at the regional level are shown to decrease thanks to the policy intervention.