Publication: European Integration, Regional Policy, and Growth
Date
2003
ISSN
Published
2003
Author(s)
Funck, Bernard G.
Pizzati, Lodovico
Abstract
The European Union (EU) stands out
internationally as one of the regions of the world that has
most explicitly and deliberately attempted to reduce
regional disparities within its constituents. How effective
this effort has been, and continues to be, is a matter of
open debate. The current enlargement of the EU include to
less affluent new members gives rise to a fresh set of
questions: How can the cohesion objective best be advanced
in a context were initial income will now be greater? Will
the accession process cause the income of the poorer regions
to converge toward EU standards, or will prevailing
disparities be exacerbated? What if anything, can the new
members do about this? What help can they expect from the EU
structural funds, and how should the funds be applied to
maximize the cohesion objective? To answer these questions
the World Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and the CIDOB
Foundation brought together leading scholars, senior policy
makers, as well as representatives from European Commission,
at a conference in Barcelona in October 2002. This book
presents the results of their discussions.
Citation
“Funck, Bernard G.; Pizzati, Lodovico. 2003. European Integration, Regional Policy, and Growth. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/98f80f6c-0a22-5612-a548-d8ff1657522b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”