Erica Delugas (p), Emanuela Sirtori

Merel Roelands

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific policy instrument implemented under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to enhance competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, it focuses on a funding mechanism designed to support production expansion and business modernisation under Thematic Objective 3 of the 2014–2020 programming period. The analysis compares the implementation of this instrument across three EU member states—Italy, Poland, and Portugal—where variations in policy design, delivery modes, and regional characteristics are expected to influence the instrument’s effectiveness.
The research integrates multiple data sources, including a unique database from the European Commission (EC, 2020) that provides detailed information on operations, beneficiaries, and projects funded through the ERDF and Cohesion Fund. This data is complemented with firm-level financial performance indicators from the Orbis database (Moody’s), allowing for the comparison of beneficiary SMEs with a matched control group of non-beneficiaries. Methodologically, the study aims to employ a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach combined with propensity score matching (PSM).
The findings of this study aim, first, to provide a rigorous assessment of the impact of ERDF support on SME competitiveness, enriching the existing body of knowledge by offering empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy. Second, they seek new insights for policymakers and stakeholders by evaluating the conditions under which ERDF support is most effective and how SME-targeted policy instruments can be better designed and implemented. By conducting a detailed analysis of a specific ERDF instrument mobilised to enhance SME competitiveness, this research aims to uncover the critical factors that shape its impact, determining what works, where, and how, thereby contributing to evidence-based policymaking in the field of SME support.

  

Merel Roelands (p), Olga Ivanova, Theodoros Chatzivasileiadis

Dagmara Kociuba

The EU Cohesion Policy aims to boost economic development in less developed regions of the European Union, thereby promoting regional convergence. Several studies have found proof of positive effects of Cohesion Policy on regional economic development, as well as convergence between European regions. Despite this evidence, disparities in the level of social and economic development across EU regions still persist. A possible explanation of this regional heterogeneity could be that the Cohesion Policy does not work in isolation. There are numerous other EU-level policies and initiatives at play that may or may not influence the economic cohesion between regions. Furthermore, a causal link between EU funds and regional convergence is yet to be established. This study aims to assess the regional economic impacts of several EU policies and their contribution to convergence of European regions. We use a unique dataset provided by the European Commission, covering EU funds across eight policy fields between 2013 and 2024 at the NUTS2 level. In addition, regional demographic and economic data from Eurostat are incorporated. Econometric panel data methods are employed to assess the impact of individual policies on regional GDP per capita. Moreover, the convergence of European regions conditional on the EU funds is investigated. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of how different EU policies interact and potentially influence convergence. The results will provide valuable insight in the potential trade-offs and synergies between the Cohesion policy and other EU funds and can thereby inform future policy design.

Dagmara Kociuba (p)

Maria Chiara D'Errico

The study presents the effects of implementing one of the palace-based policy tools, i.e. Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI), on the integration of planning and governance in functional urban areas (FUAs) in Poland. The background to the analysis was the impact of the process of formalizing inter-municipal cooperation, reflected in the delimitation of intervention areas, the legal form of the partnership and the developed rules of governance and strategic planning in FUAs in the 2014-2020 cycle. This became the starting point for demonstrating the changes in the 2021-2027 cycle. The analysis was carried out in the following aspects: institutional, cooperative and planning. The research showed that despite the use of different spatial solutions, governance structures and approaches to policy implementation and strategic planning, the experience of implementing ITIs played a significant role in strengthening existing alliances, initiating new coalitions, better adapting public interventions to the changing geographical scale of functional areas, strengthening institutional capacities and building territorial identity. The multi-faceted analyses allowed for the formulation of recommendations regarding the implementation of place-based policies in FUAs.

Maria Chiara D'Errico (p), Maria Chiara D'Errico

Philippe Jean-Pierre

The Covid-19 Pandemic and the ensuing recession and inflation have shown the necessity of political and economic planning. The EU Commission’s Recovery and Relief Fund has been Europe’s response to the crises. Through its instrument, NextGeneration EU (NGEU), the biggest set of stimuli in economic history has been established. Italy, one of the most severely hit countries in Europe, has translated NGEU’s targets into the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) which aims to bolster the economy, restore the industry and promote digital and green transitions.
Our work aims to study the ongoing NRRP and assess its performance so far and to gauge its efficiency on economic productivity. We use open data from ItaliaDomani, the NRRP’s official website, concerning the type and amount of financing, its geographical distribution and the targets set by the EU.
This will enable an empirical work through a series of inference methodologies, chiefly a Data Envelopment Analysis, to measure the NRRP’s efficiency on the state’s productivity.
Particular focus will be given to regional performance, attesting whether regions which benefited more from grants and loans performed better.
Our contribution aims to provide a novel view on the NRRP’s performance and efficiency. Additionally, it aims to provide a solid instrument for policy making, a theoretical framework helping policy-makers in the policy design and implementation system and to serve as a reference tool for future financing programmes.

Philippe Holstein (p), Sebastien Bourdin, Philippe Jean-Pierre (p)

Erica Delugas

A growing body of literature has recently focused on the design and implementation of smart specialisation strategies (S3s) in peripheral regions. Whether considered from a geographic, economic, or political perspective, peripherality has traditionally been depicted as an obstacle to regional research and innovation systems’ performance and the emergence of a knowledge-based economy. Despite such constraints, numerous studies have questioned geographic determinism and shown the possibility for dynamic research and innovation systems to thrive in peripheral regions.

The literature review on 22 publications reveals a marked geographic concentration of existing publications on continental peripheries, as well as on sparsely populated areas. Island regions, and more particularly the 9 EU Outermost Regions (ORs) -Azores, Canary, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Reunion, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint Martin – remain so far ignored. This gap appears all the more surprising, for these regions can be seen as extreme peripheries, combining physical remoteness and accessibility issues, with a small size and adverse socio-economic characteristics.

Our paper aims to fill this gap. Nonetheless, this ambition goes beyond the simple desire to cover a geographical area that has not been studied yet. More precisely, the contribution of our work is to assess the implementation of S3s in contexts that go beyond the usual justifications for continental regions experiencing sectoral transformation. Our article focuses more on other areas of justification as, in the ORs, S3s have been designed to meet the territorial challenges of major transitions (climate, energy) and to strengthen their resilience. Our work will also echo the ambitions of the European Commission which called in its 2008 Communication for a “paradigm shift” through the advent of knowledge-based economies in the ORs.

The aim of this article is therefore to question the implementation of S3s in ORs, and to analyze whether or not these strategies have led to a real paradigm shift in their development process, i-e : have they managed to turn the challenges and vulnerabilities associated with insularity into opportunities to design knowledge-intensive solutions serving the resilience of remote areas?

In order to meet this objective, our work will mobilize a case study approach on 7 ORs and will highlight :
-the factors influencing the adoption, implementation and results of (S3) in the ORs,
-the convergence and divergence among the different ORs, notably in terms of governance models;
-the existence of an “island specificity" impacting S3s and the contribution of island regions to decipher more global trends.