Regional Disparities in the European Union. What Are the Factors That Could Influence the Success of Single Regions in Deploying European Aid?

Abstract

The concepts of solidarity and cohesion represent the principal aims of European Union (EU) regional policy. Indeed, promoting economic and social cohesion can mitigate the structural disparities among European regions, having positive effects on all Community territories. EU encourages these objectives through financial funds and instruments in aid of less developed regions. However, despite these financial efforts, disparities in the European context and within the same national boundaries persist. The reasons for this phenomenon are partially ascribed to the capacity of Member States and regions to manage financial resources, identifying priority projects and sectors where investments should be directed. Moreover, regional disparities are quantified by means of symptoms and driving forces. The former represents the effects of inequalities, such as GDP per capita, unemployment and youth unemployment. The latter concerns the reasons of spatial imbalances, such as R&D and human capital, infrastructure, environment, governance, social, natural, and human capital. On the other hand, only by tackling these problems could economic and social development be encouraged and promoted. In addition, single Member States have a directive role in deciding how the financial instruments should be used and in bearing the responsibility for managing it properly. From this perspective, the driving forces represent causes of spatial disparities and at the same time the key factors of regional success in deploying EU aid. However, some of these elements, such as R&D, human and social capital, and governance, can influence the strategies and policy to manage European funds in a direct way. Indeed, for example, innovative projects in the R&D field and forms of governance, characterized by transparency and efficiency, can represent the distinction between more and less developed regions. On the other hand, although infrastructure, environment and natural capital do not have a direct impact in deploying EU regional policy aid, their analysis is necessary in order to understand the invariable aspects, such as geographical position, and how these immutable factors should be handled, acting to other elements. The main disparities in terms of GDP persist at regional level. From this perspective, Italy represents a significant case study due to historical divide between northern and southern regions. Indeed, Italy represents an emblematic case of coexistence of a rich area, typified by the central and northern regions, and the south, characterized by widespread economic and social deprivation. From this perspective, this paper aims to identify and examine driving forces that influence and encourage the regions’ success in deploying EU regional aid, analyzing the specific case study of Italy.