Cohesion policy, convergence and regional disparities : the case of the European Union
Part of : WSEAS transactions on business and economics ; Vol.9, No.2, 2012, pages 89-99
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89-99
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The aim of this paper is to discuss development of EU Cohesion Policy and its efficiency. This policy has become the core policy among EU economic policies. Regional disparities have become a debated topic in the last decades and this paper also deals with the development of regional income disparities and the convergence process in selected EU Member States. Emphasis is placed on selected new Member States (Visegrad group). The first part of the paper offers a review of EU Cohesion Policy evolution, the second part deals with different approaches to measurement of regional disparities. Regional trends are mainly measured using a variety of approaches – the coefficient of variation, the Herfindahl index, the Geographic concentration index and the Theil index. The third part of the paper is based on empirical data and calculations of the indices or the coefficients. Using gross domestic product and gross domestic product per capita in purchasing power standard data, the paper examines trends in regional disparities at the NUTS 2 level during the period 1996-2007. The analysis shows a significant convergence process and a perceptible increase in regional disparities in the case of new Member States.
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Keywords:
cohesion policy, convergence, European Union, regional disparities, visegrad group
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References (1):
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