MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE COHESION FUND IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AT REGIONAL LEVEL
Ligia HADASA PRICOPIUC
Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania hadasa.gag01@e-uvt.ro
Abstract: European funds and their impact at regional level have gained significant attention because there is a desire to distribute funds as efficiently as possible and in such a way that regions benefit in proportion to their needs. The Cohesion Fund is the main instrument for supporting economic, social, and territorial development. However, the issue has been debated many times and no consensus has been reached. Some believe that the Cohesion Fund supports regional development, while others disagree. This paper therefore analyzes the impact of the Cohesion Fund on NUTS2 regional development in 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and how it achieves or fails to achieve its overall objective. The results show that an increase in the Cohesion Fund contributes to an increase in the composite indicator, which shows the result of the overall objective. In our analysis, the Cohesion Fund has a positive and significant impact on regional development and succeeds in achieving its overall objective.
Keywords: Cohesion Fund; panel analysis; Central and Eastern Europe; regional development
JEL classification: O18; R11; R58
