EU budget review – workshops

1. The geography of regional development in Europe: what cohesion policies can and cannot do?

29 January 2009: Berlaymont building

This workshop takes a look at current EU cohesion policies. The following non-exhaustive list of questions serves as point of reference:

• Is unconditional convergence in per capita income across European regions a feasible/sensible policy objective? Are there other/better measures of disparity or cohesion? More generally, how can/should the overall objective of EU cohesion policies be made more operational?
• Beyond the traditional supply side factors of economic growth, do cohesion policies of the EU sufficiently account for other conditioning elements of regional growth, in particular public and private institutions/governance? In addition, do cohesion policies sufficiently account for forces of agglomeration?
• Do EU cohesion policies have the leverage to shape public and private institutions/governance at the national and regional level?
• Which policy tools can be expected to have a bigger impact on cohesion across EU regions: Expenditure based measures? Regulatory measures? Labour/product market reforms? Building or improvement of institutions/governance?

Programme (18 Kb)

Presentation: Financial integration and regional development in the EU
by Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, University of Houston

• Presentation (powerpoint in PDF format) (852 Kb)
• Background document: Financial Integration and Economic Welfare (187 Kb)
• Background document: Asymmetric shocks and risk-sharing in a monetary union: updated evidence and policy: implications for Europe (617 Kb)
• Background document: Financial Integration within EU Countries: The Role of Institutions, Confidence and Trust (656 Kb)
• Background document: Financial Integration and Risk Sharing: The Role of the Monetary Union (235 Kb)
• Background document: Where does capital flow? A comparison of US states and EU Countries - 1950–2000 (7.899 Kb)

Discussion: Cecilia Garcia Penalosa, GREQAM, University of Marseille

• Powerpoint presentation (102 Kb)

Presentation: Migration and regional development in the EU by Gianmarco Ottaviano, University

• Presentation (27 Kb)
• Background document: Migration and regional development (154 Kb)

Discussion: Cecilia Garcia Penalosa, GREQAM, University of Marseille

• Powerpoint presentation (356 Kb)

Presentation: Migration and regional development in the EU by Gianmarco Ottaviano, University

• Presentation (27 Kb)
• Background document: Migration and regional development (154 Kb)
• Background document: Regional convergence: The “new economic geography” perspective (356 Kb)

Discussion: Jakob von Weizsäcker, Bruegel, Bruxelles

• Powerpoint Presentation (537 Kb)

Presentation: Do institutions matter for regional development in the EU?
by Andres Rodriguez-Pose, London School of Economics

• Powerpoint Presentation (294 Kb)
• Background document: Do institutions matter for regional development in the EU? (137 Kb)

Discussion: Lewis Dijkstra, DG REGIO, European Commission

Presentation: Regional policy: what it can and cannot do? What does and does not work? by Somik Lall, World Bank, Washington

• Powerpoint presentation (8.571 Kb)
• Background document: Shrinking Distance Identifying priorities for territorial integration (913 Kb)

Discussion: Ray Hudson, Durham University

• Discussion note

For more information: BEPA Info.