Quantitative Methods for the Evaluation of European Regional Policies

Unipi Team Leader: Davide Fiaschi, Department of Economics and Management

European Regional Policy aims to create economic and social cohesion and to reduce the gap between the development levels of the various regions. Established in 1975, it has undergone constant changes and adaptations although the political priority of economic and social cohesion has been maintained. More recently, the Structural Funds have been called upon in the last financial crisis to create additional stimulus and increase advance. The evaluation of EU Regional Policy is a part of the administrative culture in Europe, although progress is still uneven across member States. The evaluation activities should be conducted in an appropriate manner and with sufficient analytical rigour, to allow a proper use of evaluation results. In doing so, significant benefits can be achieved for the whole institutional system: a contribution to improved management of EU programmes; increased transparency and accountability; enhanced cost-effectiveness of public investments. However, until recently, systematic evaluations of regional policy were not undertaken, or in many cases were not considered as a priority. The module on Quantitative Methods for the Evaluation of European Regional Policies (QMEERP) aims to introduce students to the study of the evaluation to EU regional policy. In particular the first aim is to illustrate the European Union Regional Policy and its evolution, institutions, mechanisms and financing. Special attention is dedicated the role of the European Structural Funds. The second aim is to explain the processes of convergence and divergence between European regions, emphasizing the role of regional development policies. The third aim is to present some statistical methods for evaluating regional policies and to provide guidance on what might be the problems that arise in the quantitative evaluation.

Start date: 01-09-2014

End date: 31-12-2017

EU Grant: 30.000 €

Project website: http://qe4policy.ec.unipi.it/