The thesis introduces European regional policy which provides the framework for policy of economic, social and territorial cohesion. It characterizes its objectives and financial instruments. The second part of the thesis is focused on Visegrad group in the central European region. The most important chapter deals with drawing money from structural funds and its allocation in the regions in each V4 country. The countries are also compared according to selected criteria. Final part of the thesis presents the future of the EU cohesion policy.

This study presents a new firm- and project-level dataset containing data on over two million projects co-funded by the EU structural and cohesion funds in 25 EU member states during the programming period 2007-2013. Information on individual beneficiary firms and institutions is linked with business data of Bureau van Dijk's ORBIS database. Moreover, text mining techniques are applied to categorise the EU cohesion policy projects into fifteen thematic categories. Stylised facts reveal substantial regional heterogeneity in the distribution of funds to certain projects and beneficiaries (with respect to their size or industry). Furthermore, regional funds distribution differs across less developed and higher-income as well as urban and rural regions. In an econometric analysis, we control for project and firm characteristics that we expect to determine the single project's value, which is confirmed by the results. Nevertheless, there remains unexplained variation in individual project volumes, which differs systematically across countries.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the impact of the EU’s Structural Fund (SF) policy between 2000-2007 on regional economic growth in Sweden. A regional convergence analysis is performed in order to examine if the SF policy’s overall aim of convergence is reached. Furthermore the study examines the growth of important Structural Fund goal indicators as employment, education and new firm formation in the Objective 1, 2 and 3 areas. The main growth- and convergence theories and their connection to regional policies such as the SF policy is used as the theoretical framework and form the study’s hypothesis. The results show that absolute β-convergence exists between the Swedish urban areas. The growth of the goal indicators show that the Objective 1 and 2 areas, which received most part of the SF support have achieved their aims in increasing employment and new firm creation. In addition the Objective 2 areas have increased their share of population with higher education compared to the areas that did not receive either Objective 1 or 2 support. The Objective 3 areas, which received the least part of the SF support had a lower mean growth in employment than the areas that received no direct Objective 3 support. In addition the urban areas that only received Objective 3 support had a lower growth in share of population with higher education. From the results we can reach the overall conclusion that the positive impact of the SF policy on the goal indicators seem to be the largest in the areas that received most part of the funding. The final conclusion is that the SF are effective in enhancing economic growth in the areas of intervention. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera EU:s Strukturfondspolitiks inverkan på regional ekonomisk tillväxt i Sverige mellan 2000-2007. En regional konvergensanalys utförs för att undersöka om Strukturfondspolitikens övergripande konvergens mål uppnås. Vidare undersöker studien viktiga Strukturfondmålindikatorers tillväxt, såsom sysselsättning, utbildning och nyföretagande, i Mål 1, 2 och 3 områdena. De viktigaste tillväxt- och konvergensteorierna och deras koppling till regional politik, såsom Strukturfondspolitiken används som den teoretiska bakgrunden och formar studiens hypotes. Resultaten visar att absolut β-konvergens existerar mellan de svenska kommunerna. Resultaten för målindikatorernas tillväxt visar att Mål 1 och 2-områdena som har mottagit största delen av Strukturfondsstödet har uppnått sina mål att öka sysselsättningen och starta nya företag. Dessutom har Mål 2-områdena haft en högre ökning av andelen av befolkningen med högre utbildning jämfört med områdena som inte mottog något Mål 1 eller 2-stöd. Mål 3- områdena som har mottagit den minsta delen av Strukturfondsstödet hade en lägre tillväxt av sysselsättning jämfört med de områden som inte mottog något direkt Mål 3-stöd. De områden som enbart mottog Mål 3-stöd hade dessutom en lägre tillväxt av befolkning med högre utbildning. Utifrån resultaten kan vi dra den övergripande slutsatsen att den positiva påverkan av Strukturfondspolitiken på målindikatorerna verkar vara störst i de områden som har mottagit största delen av Strukturfondsstödet. Den slutgiltiga slutsatsen är att Strukturfondspolitiken sannolikt främjar den ekonomiska tillväxten i insatsområdena.

<p> </p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the impact of the EU’s Structural Fund (SF) policy between 2000-2007 on regional economic growth in Sweden. A regional convergence analysis is performed in order to examine if the SF policy’s overall aim of convergence is reached. Furthermore the study examines the growth of important Structural Fund goal indicators as employment, education and new firm formation in the Objective 1, 2 and 3 areas. The main growth- and convergence theories and their connection to regional policies such as the SF policy is used as the theoretical framework and form the study’s hypothesis.</p><p>The results show that absolute β-convergence exists between the Swedish urban areas. The growth of the goal indicators show that the Objective 1 and 2 areas, which received most part of the SF support have achieved their aims in increasing employment and new firm creation. In addition the Objective 2 areas have increased their share of population with higher education compared to the areas that did not receive either Objective 1 or 2 support. The Objective 3 areas, which received the least part of the SF support had a lower mean growth in employment than the areas that received no direct Objective 3 support. In addition the urban areas that only received Objective 3 support had a lower growth in share of population with higher education. From the results we can reach the overall conclusion that the positive impact of the SF policy on the goal indicators seem to be the largest in the areas that received most part of the funding. The final conclusion is that the SF are effective in enhancing economic growth in the areas of intervention.</p><p> </p> / <p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera EU:s Strukturfondspolitiks inverkan på regional ekonomisk tillväxt i Sverige mellan 2000-2007. En regional konvergensanalys utförs för att undersöka om Strukturfondspolitikens övergripande konvergens mål uppnås. Vidare undersöker studien viktiga Strukturfondmålindikatorers tillväxt, såsom sysselsättning, utbildning och nyföretagande, i Mål 1, 2 och 3 områdena. De viktigaste tillväxt- och konvergensteorierna och deras koppling till regional politik, såsom Strukturfondspolitiken används som den teoretiska bakgrunden och formar studiens hypotes.</p><p>Resultaten visar att absolut β-konvergens existerar mellan de svenska kommunerna. Resultaten för målindikatorernas tillväxt visar att Mål 1 och 2-områdena som har mottagit största delen av Strukturfondsstödet har uppnått sina mål att öka sysselsättningen och starta nya företag. Dessutom har Mål 2-områdena haft en högre ökning av andelen av befolkningen med högre utbildning jämfört med områdena som inte mottog något Mål 1 eller 2-stöd. Mål 3- områdena som har mottagit den minsta delen av Strukturfondsstödet hade en lägre tillväxt av sysselsättning jämfört med de områden som inte mottog något direkt Mål 3-stöd. De områden som enbart mottog Mål 3-stöd hade dessutom en lägre tillväxt av befolkning med högre utbildning. Utifrån resultaten kan vi dra den övergripande slutsatsen att den positiva påverkan av Strukturfondspolitiken på målindikatorerna verkar vara störst i de områden som har mottagit största delen av Strukturfondsstödet. Den slutgiltiga slutsatsen är att Strukturfondspolitiken sannolikt främjar den ekonomiska tillväxten i insatsområdena.</p>

The aim of this study is to determine regional income level and disparities in CEECs and Turkey in a comparison of new 26 NUTS-II regions for Turkey with 49 NUTS-II regions of CEECs in the period of 1995 and 2001 by using the indicator of GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power standard. In this study, furthermore, those questions have been discussed: whether the EU is a chance for reducing regional inequalities and growth of the regional wealth in Turkey, and whether Turkey is another thread for the EU regional policy in the future on the enlargement process for the EU. In this study, it is also examined regional income level and disparities in the EU-15, the EU-25, the EU-27, and the EU-28 in case accession of Turkey to the Union. The analyses are carried out for 207 NUTS-II regions of the EU-15, for the EU-25 (248 NUTS-II), for the EU-27 (262 NUTS-II) and for the EU-28 (288 NUTS-II) in terms of the latest available data of GDP per capita in PPS for 2001. The regional income disparities are discussed by using the most well known measures of regional inequality / i.e., Maximum to Minimum Ratio (MMR), Coefficient of Variation (CV), Relative Mean Deviation (Rw) and Theil Index (T). In case accession of Turkey to the EU, her NUTS-II regions would take an advantage of benefit assistance of the EU regional policy instruments along with the CEECs&rsquo / whereas, the seven NUTS-II regions of current three member states would continue to benefit of this assistance, i.e. 3 NUTS-II regions of Greece, 3 for Portugal and only one NUTS-II region for Spain. In the accession-period of Turkey, which will start accession-negotiations with the EU on 3 October 2005, she should adjust her regional policy and regional development projects in light with the EU regional policy and its financial instruments in order to utilize that advantage.

This dissertation examines how new European Union (EU) member states manage and implement European Cohesion Policy (CP). It assess the administrative and political factors that might explain the variation in the financial absorption of Structural Funds (SF), with a specific focus on two homogeneous cases from Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs). Whilst there is a dense literature on the potential socio-economic impact of CP in the EU, less attention has been paid to the factors affecting CP and SF governance at the national domestic level. Questions of financial absorption, delivery effectiveness and quality of the spending remain open and are puzzling for both academics and practitioners. Subsequently, one of the main aims of this thesis has been to provide an in-depth investigation of, on the one hand, the structural administrative capacity employed by states to manage this policy and, on the on the other hand, the political factors and dynamics that influence its delivery of SF in new member states. The study carries out an archaeology of the capacity of the specialised institutions involved in the different stages of the absorption process with the general aim of explaining some of the determinants of absorption performance, particularly in the countries assessed. It proposes an absorption capacity model in order to assess these claims and the original empirical evidence collected. The thesis fills in several empirical and theoretical lacunae in knowledge. Empirically, the study draws on multiple comparative case studies from Bulgaria and Romania, two problematic yet diverging cases in terms of absorption performance, during the 2007-2013 implementation period. These countries first experience in managing and implementing SF provides empirically rich insights. Theoretically, this thesis offers a more nuanced account of the governance of CP and SF in CEECs. It builds and refines the concept of administrative capacity as well as several political factors (stability, support and clientelism) in order to examine the complexity and problematic issues surrounding SF absorption. Insights on CP governance, administrative capacity-building and the impact of politicisation at the national and local level are outlined and discussed. The main argument put forward in this thesis is that the variation in absorption performance is generated by the interplay between administrative and political conditions. In other words, the way in which administrative and political factors have interacted has shaped the ability of the two countries to govern EU Cohesion Policy and influenced their performance in absorbing EU funding. This argument is developed in line with several key findings. First, administrative capacity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for countries to deliver effectively CP. Second, political conditions can facilitate or hinder the development of national administrative capacities and have often influenced the different stages of the absorption policy process. The thesis highlights the need to critically reflect on the overall dynamics between structural administrative arrangements and domestic political conditions, in order to advance our understanding of how EU policies are governed and implemented at the national level. Finally, the thesis formulates several recommendations, for the different stakeholders involved, on how to facilitate the delivery of SF in order to improve cohesion and development in Europe.

The thesis is dealing with the Regional policy in the EU and its application on the conditions in the Czech Republic, based on example of the cohesion region Stredni Morava. The emphasis was made on the current period from 2007 to 2013. Hence the content of this work is not only the Cohesion policy at the European level and the analysis of its current state but consideration of its further development as well. The main topic is however the analysis of the region Stredni Morava in terms of economic development in the context of the Regional policy and setting of this policy in mentioned region including funding of various regional projects. The goal of the thesis is thus description of this complex task and application of the findings on the specific region.

The content of this thesis is the analysis of the Integrated Urban Development Plans in the Czech Republic, which is then particulary demonstrated on the example of Ustí nad Labem. The regional capital has now initiated the creation of three Integrated Urban Development Plans, two of them have a zone character -- IUDP Center and IUDP Nestemice -- Mojzir settlement, and one with a thematic orientation on the transportation -- IUDP Mobility. In the theoretical part is the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy discussed, followed by its form and metodology in the Czech Republic. The specific IUDPs of Usti nad Labem are subsequently summarized in the practical part which is focused on the application of the documents, the evaluation of the actual interconnection of projects and find new starting points for the next programming period

This thesis builds on the topic of my bachelor thesis which dealt with the use of EU funds in Luhačovice and the analysis of specific projects that were successfully completed. This piece of work introduces us to two major subsidies that have been recently implemented in this particular city. It is based on the reconstruction of two streets named Jurkovičova alej and Dr.Veseleho, which are the two very important historical aspects of the city. In addition to the characteristics, costing models and final evaluation, a questionnaire for the local residents has also been developed and evaluated. This research tells us if in fact the residents of Luhačovice are aware of the changes going on and how they perceive them. Their opinions of the effectiveness of the use of subsidies were also recorded. In the conclusion, we can find various numerical comparisons over the years, in particular when the city began to use EU funds and an outline of the possible developments in the near future.

The diploma thesis deals with the new form of the upcoming programming period of the EU cohesion policy which will cover the time interval of 2014-2020. The first part of the thesis focuses on the concept of regional policy as a general theoretical background then it shifts to a description of the EU Common regional policy and its functioning. The next part deals with the evaluation of the economic impacts of the realization of this policy on the EU member states. Consequently, the last two parts clarify the new form of the EU cohesion policy 2014-2020 programming period, firstly from the EU point of view, secondly also from the perspective of the Czech Republic as one of the member states. In the Conclusion the thesis evaluates all possible impacts of the proposed legislative changes for the next programming period.