Regional Development in Central-Eastern European Countries at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Path Dependence and Effects of EU Cohesion Policy
PDF

Keywords

CEECs
convergence
EU Cohesion Policy
path dependence
regional development

How to Cite

Dyba, W., Loewen, B., Looga, J., & Zdražil, P. (2018). Regional Development in Central-Eastern European Countries at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Path Dependence and Effects of EU Cohesion Policy. Quaestiones Geographicae, 37(2), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2018-0017

Abstract

Cohesion Policy has provided new impulses for development in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) that continue to be challenged by regional disparities. This paper investigates the effects of the European Union Cohesion Policy on regional development. After presenting historical development patterns of the investigated area and opportunities afforded by this policy, its effects on a variety of indicators are analysed for the period 2007–2014. The analysis allowed confirming positive effects of EU Cohesion Policy on the development of CEE regions. However, these effects differ across the investigated area. Moving forward, it will be crucial to develop institutions and policies characteristic to each region that are stable and efficient without external funds.
https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2018-0017
PDF

References

Annoni P., Dijkstra L., 2013. EU Regional Competitiveness Index 2013. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Arthur W.B., 1994. Increasing returns and path dependence in the economy. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.

Asheim B.T., Boschma R., Cooke P., 2011. Constructing regional advantage: Platform policies based on related variety and differentiated knowledge bases. Regional Studies 45(7): 893–904.

Avdikos V., Chardas V., 2016. European Union Cohesion Policy Post 2014: More (place-based and conditional) growth – Less redistribution and cohesion. Territory, Politics, Governance 4(1): 97–117.

Bachtler J., Yuill D., 2001. Policies and strategies for regional development: A shift in paradigm? Regional and Industrial Policy Research Paper 46. University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Barca F., 2006. An agenda for a reformed Cohesion Policy: A place-based approach to meeting European Union challenges and expectations. European Commission, Brussels.

Barca F., McCann P., Rodríguez-Pose A., 2009. The case for regional development intervention: Place-based versus place-neutral approaches. Journal of Regional Science 52(1): 134–152.

Barro R., Sala-i-Martin X., 1992. Convergence. Journal of Political Economy 100(2): 223–251.

Barro R., Sala-i-Martin X., 2004. Economic Growth. The MIT Press, Cambridge.

Baumol W., 1986. Productivity growth, convergence, and welfare: What the long-run data show. American Economic Review 76(5): 1072–1085.

Berend I.T., 2006. An economic history of twentieth-century Europe: Economic regimes from laissez-faire to globalization. University Press, Cambridge.

Berend I.T., 2009. From the soviet bloc to the European Union: The economic and social transformation of Central and Eastern European since 1973. University Press. Cambridge.

Bienias S., Gapski T., 2014. Effects of Cohesion Policy in regions in Poland. In: Ambroziak A. (ed.), New Cohesion Policy of the European Union in Poland. Contributions to economics. Springer, Cham.

Brusis M., 2002. Between EU requirements, competitive politics, and national traditions: Re–creating regions in the accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Governance 15(4): 531–559.

Bruszt L., 2008. Multi-level governance – the Eastern versions: Emerging patterns of regional developmental governance in the new member states. Regional & Federal Studies 18(5): 607–627.

Capello R., Fratesi U., 2011. Globalization and regional growth in Europe: Past trends and future scenarios. Springer, Berlin.

Chojnicki Z., Czyż T., Parysek J., 1999. Transformations and dilemmas of the Polish economy. In: Carter W.F., Maik W. (eds), Shock-shift in an enlarged Europe: The geography of socio-economic changes in East-Central Europe after 1989. Aldershot, Ashgate: 7–26.

Churski P., Ratajczak W., 2010. Regional development and regional policy in Poland: First experiences and new challenges of the European Union membership, Part I and II. Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.

Churski P., Stryjakiewicz T., 2016. Poznań – an attempt to assess changes during 10 years of membership in the European Union. Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań.

Copus A., Noguera J., 2010. A typology of intermediate and predominantly rural NUTS 3 regions. EDORA Scientific Working Paper No. 24. EDORA Final Report, Annex 1 (Part C: Scientific Working Papers). ESPON 2013 Programme, Luxembourg.

Costanza R., Hart M., Posner S., Talberth J., 2009. Beyond GDP: The need for new measures of progress. Pardee Paper 4, Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston.

Czyż T., 2001. Zróżnicowanie regionalne Polski w układzie nowych województw (Poland’s regional diversity in the new voivodeships). Biuletyn KPZK PAN 197: 7–35.

David P.A., 1985. Clio and the economics of QWERTY. American Economic Review 75(2): 332–337.

David P.A., 2001. Path dependence, its critics and the quest for ‘historical economics’. In: Garrouste P., Ioannides S. (eds), Evolution and path dependence in economic ideas: Past and present. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham: 15–40.

Davies S., Ferry M., Gross F., 2015. Policy reform under challenging conditions: Annual review of regional policy in Europe. European Policy Research Paper 14(1): 1–63.

Directorate-General for Internal Policies, 2014. Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) – Booster for European Leadership in the Manufacturing Sector. European Union, Brussels.

Directorate-General for Regional Policy (DG REGIO), 2017. Data for research – Regional Policy Online: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/data-for-research (accessed 22 July 2017).

Dobrinsky R., Havlik, P., 2014. Economic convergence and structural change: The role of transition and EU accession. WIIW, Vienna.

Ehrlich E., 1991. Contest between countries: 1937–1986. Soviet Studies 43(5): 875–896.

Enyedi G., 1990. New basis for regional and urban policies in East-Central Europe. RKK Discussion Paper 9. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Regional Studies, Pécs.

European Commission, 2010a. Europe 2020: EU Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. European Union, Brussels.

European Commission, 2010b. Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020. European Union, Brussels.

European Commission, 2013. Expert evaluation network on the performance of Cohesion Policy 2007–2013: Synthesis of National Reports 2013. European Union, Brussels.

European Commission, 2014. Investment for jobs and growth: Promoting development and good governance in EU regions and cities. Sixth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

European Commission, 2016. Commission staff working document, Ex post evaluation of the ERDF and Cohesion Fund 2007–13. Online: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/ec/2007-2013/ (accessed 29 August 2017).

European Commission, 2017a. Data for research, period 2007–2013, ERDF/ESF/CF Priority theme overview 2007–2013. Online: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/data-for-research/ (accessed 29 August 2017).

European Commission, 2017b. European Structural and Investment Funds. Online: https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/dataset/ESIF-2014-2020-FINANCES-PLANNED-DETAILS/e4v6-qrrq (accessed 1 August 2017).

Eurostat, 2017. Database. Online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database (accessed 22 July 2017).

Farole T., Rodríguez-Pose A., Storper M., 2011. Cohesion Policy in the European Union: Growth, geography, institutions. Journal of Common Market Studies 49(5): 1089–1111.

Foray D., 2009. Understanding smart specialisation. In: Pontikakis D., Kyriakou D., Van Bavel R. (eds), The questions of R&D specialisation: Perspectives and policy implications. European Commission/Joint Research Centre, Seville: 14–24.

Gligoric M., 2014. Paths of income convergence between country pairs within Europe. Economic Annals 59(201): 123–155.

Good D.F., Ma T., 1999. The economic growth of Central and Eastern Europe in comparative perspective, 1870–1989. European Review of Economic History 3(2): 103–137.

Gorzelak G., 2010. Facts and myths of regional development. Studia Regionalne i Lokalne SI: 5–28.

Gorzelak G., Bachtler J., Smętkowski M., 2010. Regional development in Central and Eastern Europe. Development processes and policy challenges. Routledge, New York.

Horváth G., 1998. Regional and Cohesion Policy in Hungary. RKK Discussion Paper 23. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Regional Studies, Pécs.

Illner M., 1997. Territorial decentralization – a stumbling block of democratic reforms in East-Central Europe? Polish Sociological Review 117: 23–45.

Illner M., Andrle A., 1994. The regional aspect of post-communist transformation in the Czech Republic. Czech Sociological Review 2(1): 107–127.

Isaksen A., 2001. Building regional innovation systems: Is endogenous industrial development possible in the global economy? Canadian Journal of Regional Science 24(1): 101–120.

Karo E., Kattel R., 2015. Economic development and evolving state capacities in Central and Eastern Europe: Can “smart specialization” make a difference? Journal of Economic Policy Reform 18(2): 172–187.

Kaczmarek T., 2016. Administrative division of Poland – 25 years of experience during the systemic transformation. EchoGéo 35.

Korcelli P., 1995. Regional patterns in Poland’s transformation: The first five years. Zeszyty IGiPZ PAN 34, Warsaw.

Kozak M., 2011. Impact of Cohesion Policy on Poland. Studia regionalia 33: 29–42.

Krugman P., 1991. Increasing returns and economic geography. Journal of Political Economy 99(3): 483–499.

Lucas R., 1988. On the mechanics of economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics 22(1): 3–42.

Lux G., 2009. Divergent patterns of adaptation among Central European old industrial regions. European Spatial Research and Policy 16(1): 145–157.

Maddison A., 1991. Dynamic forces in capitalist development: A long-run comparative view. Oxford University Press, New York.

Maddison A., 2003. The world economy: Historical statistics. OECD Publishing, Paris.

Mankiw N., Romer D., Weil D., 1992. A contribution to the empirics of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 107(2): 407–437.

Matkowski Z., Prochniak M., Rapacki R., 2016. Real income convergence between Central Eastern and Western Europe: Past, present, and prospects. Ekonomista 24: 853–892.

Mendez C., 2012. The Lisbonization of EU Cohesion Policy: A successful case of experimentalist governance? European Planning Studies 19(3): 519–537.

Molle W., 2012. Competitiveness, EMU and cohesion. Conditions for an effective post crisis EU policy. In: Latoszek E. et al. (eds), European integration process in the new regional and global setting. University Press, Warsaw: 233–267.

Monastiriotis V., 2014. Regional growth and national development: Transition in Central and Eastern Europe and the regional Kuznets Curve in the East and the West. Spatial Economic Analysis 9(2): 142–161.

Noguera-Tur J., del Mar García-García M., Veloso-Pérez E., Lückenkötter J., 2009. Review of current situation and trends: Access to services of general interest. EDORA Applied Research Project 2013/1/2. ESPON 2013 Programme, Luxembourg.

OECD, 2000. Glossary of statistical terms. Online: https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=303 (accessed 20 July 2017).

OECD, 2010. Regional development policies in OECD countries. OECD, Paris.

OECD, 2012. Draft synthesis report on innovation driven-growth in regions: The role of smart specialisation. OECD, Paris.

Okey R., 1992. Central Europe / Eastern Europe: Behind the definitions. Past & Present 137(1): 102–133.

Pike A., Rodriguez-Pose A., Tomaney J., 2006. Local and regional development. Routledge, London.

Porter M.E., 1998. Competitive advantage of nations: Creating and sustaining superior performance. The Free Press, New York.

Rebelo S., 1991. Long-run policy analysis and long-run growth. Journal of Political Economy 99(3): 500–521.

Romer P., 1986. Increasing returns and long-run growth. Journal of Political Economy 94(5): 1002–1037.

Scherpereel J.A., 2010. EU Cohesion Policy and the Europeanization of Central and East European regions. Regional and Federal Studies 20(1): 45–62.

Spruk R., 2013. Economic growth and income convergence in transition: Evidence from central Europe. Journal of Global Economics 1(104): 1–9.

Stanisic N., 2016. Income convergence in the process of the Western Balkan states’ accession to the European Union. Economic Horizons 18(1): 3–15.

Stryjakiewicz T., 2009. The old and the new in the geographical pattern of the Polish transition. AUPO Geographica 40(1): 5–24.

Swianiewicz P., 2010. If territorial fragmentation is a problem, is amalgamation a solution? An East European perspective. Local Government Studies 36(2): 183–203.

Szczepański J., 1977. Early stages of socialist industrialization and changes in social class structure. International Journal of Sociology 7(3–4): 11–36.

Szlachta J., 2011. Strategic programming of regional development. Towards the national system of startegic thought in the field of regional policy. In: Kolczyński M., Żuber P. (eds). New Paradigm in Action. Ministry of Regional Development, Warszaw.

Tödtling F., Trippl M., 2005. One size fits all? Towards a differentiated regional innovation policy approach. Research Policy 34: 1203–1219.

Tukey J., 1977. Exploratory data analysis. Addison–Wesley, Reading.

Valdaliso J.M., Magro E., Navarro M., Aranguren M.J., Wilson J.R., 2014. Path dependence in policies supporting smart specialisation strategies: Insights from the Basque case. European Journal of Innovation Management 17(4): 390–408.

Vanthillo T., Verhetsel A., 2012. Paradigm change in regional policy: Towards smart specialisation? Lessons from Flanders (Belgium). Belgeo – Belgian Journal of Geography 2012(1–2).

Zdražil P., Applová P., 2016. Growth disparities among regions of the Visegrad group countries: An evidence of their extent and nature. E & M Ekonomie a Management 19(2): 37–54.

Zdražil P., Applová P., 2017. The impacts of the 2007–2013 programming period of EU regional policy on development of Czech micro-regions. In: Klimová V., Žitek V. (eds), 20th International Colloquium on Regional Sciences. Masaryk University, Brno: 75–82.