ABSTRACT
Cohesion Policy is the main instrument used to promote and achieve a balanced and lasting economic growth across the European Union (EU) and absorbs more than one-third of the EU's budget. This chapter contributes to the debate on the efficiency of Cohesion Policy expenditure from a new methodological perspective that consists of the analysis of the impact of Structural Funds devoted to three precise areas, productive environment, human capital and infrastructure, using a data-driven methodology that accounts for the possible heterogeneous response due to non-linearities. It presents an analysis of the allocation of Structural Funds in relation to the Lisbon Agenda and an outlook of European regional growth. The chapter also presents the economic model and econometric strategy used in the estimates. It provides an estimation of the impact of Structural Funds on economic growth using the econometric approach.
