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Institutional cross‐border interactions support the EU goals for regional development by creating joint local initiatives and cross‐border institutional cooperation networks. This paper aims to develop a new theoretical approach and methodological strategy for studying processes of cross‐border territorial integration within the EU. By building on the cross‐border institutional thickness (CBIT) conceptual framework, the paper analyses the policy targets in the cross‐border regional context. CBIT measures how its components support the required development or policy goals in different regions. Therefore, this paper provides theoretical and methodological approaches to the CBIT model and contributes to future studies in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the overall impact of the European Cohesion Policy depends on the composition of the regional investment in Hard (infrastructure) and Soft (business and technical support) projects. The study employs a generalized propensity score (GPS) analysis in a multidimensional treatment context. In particular, the two dimensions considered are given by the Hard and Soft investments. The GPS estimation is based on a set of relevant idiosyncratic features of the regions. The second step estimates a dose–response function in a two‐dimensional setting. The results confirm the existence of nonlinearities in the effect of different amounts of funds, but more importantly, show a degree of complementarity between Hard and Soft investment and that for policymakers, it is crucial to exploit such features to achieve more significant impact. The EU's more developed regions could have achieved a doubled GDP p.c. growth rate by pursuing a policy mix where Hard investments are reduced in favor of Soft investments. This improvement is comparable to the one obtained by at least doubling the available resources. The findings add to the evidence collected on the impact of the Cohesion Policy, suggesting a shift of the debate from the quantity to the quality of the expenditure pursued under the umbrella of territorial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Traditionally, the effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy has been evaluated in terms of GDP growth rate. In this paper, we consider the effect of the regional policy in terms of its impacts on two specific fields of intervention, namely 'research, technological development and innovation', and 'transport infrastructure'. Our econometric approach involves the use of a non-parametric regression discontinuity design technique to a uniquely-disaggregated Cohesion Policy dataset broken down according to the specific objectives of each stream of funding. The analysis considers different time intervals and sub-samples. Our results demonstrate a positive impact of Cohesion Policy interventions in these two specific fields of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brexit means that regions of the United Kingdom will lose access to the EU Cohesion Policy. Have EU funds been effective, and what might be the consequences of an interruption of EU financial support? This paper studies the impact of 'Objective 1' funding-the highest form of EU aid-in Cornwall and South Yorkshire, two of the U.K.'s most subsidized regions. Counterfactual methodologies assessing their labor market and economic performance provide evidence of a positive effect of EU Objective 1 funds. When in 2006 South Yorkshire lost Objective 1 eligibility, this massively reduced its share of EU funds and the region was unable to sustain the gains obtained in previous years. This suggests that while Structural Funds may be effectively improving socio-economic conditions of poorer regions, the performance of subsidized areas could be deeply affected by a reduction (or worse, an interruption) of EU aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Policy Analysis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our empirical analysis focuses on the effect of regional policies on migration attraction factors in Europe. We employ a regression discontinuity design to assess the causal relationship between the reception of large amounts of public funds and migration flows in the EU‐15 regions. In highly‐subsidised regions, we find a large increase in the share of foreign citizens from less‐developed countries when compared to low‐subsidised regions with similar pre‐treatment characteristics. The analysis shows that such an increase is due to the positive impact of the European regional policy on job market opportunities as well as the improvement of public goods supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a ethical dimension in cross‐border cooperation? Although EU border scholars and practitioners highlight how important is to consider the normative dimension of cross‐border cooperation for its successful management, the ethical dimension has been instead so far neglected and understudied because of the lack of an appropriate methodological and theoretical background. Thus, I aim to fill this scholarly and policy‐making gap by addressing this main question and by proposing an alternative ethical‐humanist approach to cross‐border cooperation. It is argued that the cross‐border governance ethical code elaborated here is the necessary lynchpin to promote and strengthen integration and cohesion through cross‐border cooperation within the EU. The outcome of this analysis is an alternative modern cross‐border cooperation roadmap that promotes social conditions through which human beings as well as their natural environment can harmoniously develop through the fulfilment of specific ethical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European and national policy‐makers have highlighted the role of the cohesion policy in smoothing the effects of the crisis during the programme period 2007–13. To support these claims, however, specific evidence is needed. This article studied the relations between the absorption of the EU funds and regional labour markets in Italian regions during the Great Recession. By applying different panel data models to new data on cohesion policy, three main results were achieved. We found that the cohesion policy made a contribution to the resilience of Italian regional labour markets. Yet the short‐term consequences of the cohesion policy on regional economies were conditional on the heterogeneous quality of regional institutions. We also found that the policy changes introduced in Italy during the crisis increased the effectiveness of the cohesion policy. The analysis was controlled for endogeneity issues and alternative specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)