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Are we spending too much to grow? The case of Structural Funds
Author(s) -
Cerqua Augusto,
Pellegrini Guido
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1467-9787
pISSN - 0022-4146
DOI - 10.1111/jors.12365
Subject(s) - lagging , econometrics , regression discontinuity design , economics , discontinuity (linguistics) , cohesion (chemistry) , value (mathematics) , monetary economics , mathematics , statistics , chemistry , organic chemistry , mathematical analysis
We evaluate whether the impact of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds (EUF) on Member States’ regional economic growth depends on the intensity of treatment, measured by the normalized amount of funds distributed in each region. We use an original data set that covers all the main sources of EUF and extend the regression discontinuity design to the case of continuous treatment. The results suggest an average positive effect on regional growth. The estimated conditional intensity‐growth function is concave and presents a maximum value. Therefore, the exceeding funds could have been allocated to other lagging regions without reducing the effect on growth.