466
PHILOSOPHY AND METHODS OF EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN
REGIONAL POLICY
T ón Zsuzsanna
Uni e si y o Deb ecen, Facul y o Economics and Business S udies Add ess: Kassai s . 26, C
ép. 8, Deb ecen, H-4028 Hunga y Telephone: +36-52-416-580 / in . 77049 E-mail:
zsuzsanna. on @econ.unideb.hu.
I is a e y gene ally accep ed iew ha inancial suppo ecei ed om he Eu opean Union gene a es a
la ge g ow h su plus. The po en ial e ec s o he s uc u al unds calcula ed in model simula ions ca ied
ou by he Eu opean Commission suppo hese posi i e expec a ions. Howe e empi ical s udies o he
eal e ec s o he unds a e ew and a be ween measu ing he g ow h su pluses a ibu ed o he p ocess
o ca ching up wi h iche EU economies. The aim o he p esen pape is o emedy his con adic ion by
in oducing he gene al philosophy and me hods o he examina ion o he egional policy o he Eu opean
Union.
Key wo ds: Eu opean Union, egional policy, e alua ion me hods
JEL classi ica ion codes: F02, F15, R10, R11, R19, R50, R58
One o he majo aims o he egional policy304 o he Eu opean Union is o help educe he
exis ing income gap be ween he iche and poo e egions (in o he wo ds o educe he
economic and e i o ial dispa i ies). The o he majo objec i e o his policy is o ein o ce
employmen and o deal wi h he p oblem o social exclusion (i.e. o educe social dispa i ies). In
o de o achie e hese aims he Union spends signi ican sums on p og ammes designed o ealise
hese objec i es.
An examina ion o he almos wen y yea expe ience o his policy a communi y le el leads us
o ask o wha ex en he objec i es ha e been eached, and how e ec i ely and app op ia ely
Eu opean axpaye s’ money has been spen . A well- ounded answe o hese ypes o ques ions
can be gi en a e an analysis o he policy, and he answe s can help o o mula e u u e policy.
The concep and de elopmen o e alua ion in EU p ac ice
E alua ion o egional policy is ela i ely ecen in he his o y o he Union; a he beginning,
(1975-1988) o a ious easons305, app op ia e sys ems o e alua ion we e no employed
(Bach le – Michie 1995). In 1988 howe e , when he Eu opean Commission ecei ed a la ge
304 In his pape he egional policy o he EU, he cohesion policy o he EU, and he s uc u al policy o
he EU a e used as synonymous concep ions, which e e o he wo king o he Eu opean Union S uc u al
Funds and he Cohesion Fund. These a e he main ools which he Union uses o help he economic and
social cohesion o membe s a es and egions. In he pe iod examined in his pape – be o e 2006 – ou
s uc u al unds we e in ope a ion: he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund, he Eu opean Social Fund,
he o ien a ion sec ion o he Eu opean Ag icul u e Guidance and Gua an ee Fund, and he Financial
Ins umen o Fishe ies Guidance. The Cohesion Fund p o ides inancial suppo o la ge p og ammes o
de elop en i onmen al and anspo in as uc u e. The inancial suppo s o he s uc u al unds a e
p o ided on he basis o he egions laid down as he ‘ a ge a eas’ o ‘Objec i es’, o wi hin he amewo k
o he so-called Communi y Ini ia i es. The Cohesion Fund can be applied o by he leas de eloped
membe s a es, which be o e 2006 we e G eece, Po ugal, Spain and he new membe s a es. Fo de ails o
he new sys em which came in o ope a ion in 2007, see he ollowing in e ne page:
h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ egional_policy/policy/objec /index_en.h m.
305 Bach le and Michie (1995) lis h ee easons in hei pape ; (1) be o e 1988 communi y aid and money
de o ed o egional de elopmen in membe s a es we e mixed oge he , (2) he di ision o du ies be ween
adminis a i e bodies was badly co-o dina ed, and (3) he e alua ion me hods we e e y di e en
h oughou Eu ope, pa icula ly in ha hey lacked communi y guidelines.
467
ole in he dis ibu ion o Union unds, con lic be ween he Commission and membe s a es
became mo e in ense. In his way he mos impo an and longes es ablished aim o e alua ion
was o ensu e accoun abili y (Ba e bu y 2006). F om his ime on, he Commission nomina ed
he egions which we e o ecei e inancial aid, app o ed he de elopmen plans, and exe cised
o e sigh on de elopmen expendi u e. The ac ha hese we e he mos signi ican i ems o he
Union’s budge a y expendi u e u he s eng hened he demand o accoun abili y306. As a
esul o hese de elopmen s, he e alua ion sys em, moni o ing, inancial managemen and
audi ing became s ic e and mo e widely es ablished in he EU, oge he wi h he a endan legal
esponsibili ies. The si ua ion is complica ed e en u he by he ac ha du ing he p ocess o
e alua ion a la ge numbe o o ganisa ions mus be included, om he p og amme manage s and
pa ne s, h ough he egional and na ional au ho i ies, igh up o he a ious Union ins i u ions,
bu in e ms o he esul s achie ed h ough Union expendi u e and he achie emen o he
p og amme, each o ganisa ion has di e en in e es s. (Bach le – W en 2006)
Cons uc ing an e alua ion sys em o he p og ammes in he membe s a es is no a all simple,
since he e is no moni o ing egula o y sys em a he communi y le el. The need o moni o ing
is e iden in he Council egula ions conce ning he common budge , bu no hing is said abou
how o c ea e i in p ac ice. Fo he 2007-2013 budge a y pe iod he Eu opean Union only issued
wo king pape s and guidance documen s o assis he e alua ion p ocess, and did no deal wi h
he es ablishmen o a egula o y sys em o p og ammes which a ec he common budge 307.
In he EU he basic aim o e alua ion (o moni o ing) is no o p o ide an ex pos analysis o he
low o unds, bu “ o p o ide suppo o he backg ound examina ion o he execu ion o he
de elopmen p og ammes” (Fo man 2001:211). The ask o moni o ing, acco ding o Rechnicze
– Lados (2004:257) is “ o accoun o he de elopmen s leading o egional de elopmen and he
ad ancemen o p og ammes, and in his way o hei e alua ion.” Like Fo man (2001) hey also
poin ou ha moni o ing is no simply a inancial and adminis a i e con ol, bu much mo e:
ollowing he cou se o de elopmen p og ammes, con inually e alua ing hem, p o iding
eedback on he achie emen o goals as well as an e alua ing and sys emizing he egional
e ec s o de elopmen .
Al hough he e ms ‘e alua ion’ and ‘moni o ing’ ha e dis inc meanings, in in e na ional and
Hunga ian li e a u e hey a e egula ly used as synonyms. Fo he eade , he di e ence can
pe haps be el in he di e ence be ween he mic o and he mac o le el, since e alua ion e e s o
mac o-, while moni o ing o mic o le el e alua ion. (B adley 2006:190).
How do we e alua e? How can he exis ence o a policy be jus i ied; how can we p o e ha he
money spen in he amewo k o egional policy has been spen well? Acco ding o Molle
(2006:2) wo hings mus be measu ed. Fi s , we mus show ha he policy has eached i s
objec i es, in o he wo ds ha i has been e ec i e. Secondly, we mus demons a e ha no
money has been was ed, in o he wo ds ha he policy has been e icien . The demons a ion o
e ec i eness and e iciency help us in he p ocess o e alua ion.
The i s s ep o e e y e alua ion is ha we mus unde s and he logic o he in e en ion, which
ob iously implies unde s anding wha we wish o achie e, and how we wish o achie e i (see EC
2001:5 and EC 2006:4). The key elemen s o he logic o in e en ion a e inpu s, p ojec (o
ac i i ies), ou pu s, esul s (sho e m o ini ial impac s) and ou comes (o longe e m impac s).
See Figu e 1. O en a SWOT analysis is associa ed o his s uc u e.308
306 The inc easing in e es in he e alua ion o he EU cohesion policy can be desc ibed as an in e na ional
end, d i en wo ldwide by he demand o a legi imisa ion o and jus i ica ion o go e nmen al
in e en ion. (Bach le – W en 2006).
307 See h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ egional_policy/sou ces/doco ic/wo king/s 2000_en.h m o de ails.
308 We will e u n o his diag am in he las chap e .
468
Figu e 1. The key elemen s examined du ing he e alua ion o EU egional policy.
Sou ce: Molle 2006:5.309
By comple ing he e alua ion we a e able o answe no only he esea ch ques ion’s
accoun abili y c i e ium ( e e ing o he app op iacy o he expendi u e o ax paye ’s money);
wi h he help o he e alua ion we a e also able o imp o e he esul s o a ce ain phase o he
de elopmen policy, ha is planning, p og amming and implemen a ion – in o he wo ds we can
imp o e pe o mance (e ec i eness and e iciency). Taking all his in o conside a ion we can
e e o his p ocess as lea ning. (Molle 2006:2)
Types o E alua ion
The complexi y o e alua ion men ioned abo e (a ising mainly om he di e gen in e es s
in ol ed) is deepened by he ac ha i can appea in many o ms. The guidelines and wo king
documen s ha ac as egula ions only c ea e he amewo k, while he na ional and egional
en i onmen , he ins i u ional sys em and he na u e o he execu ion a e all di e en . The cul u e
o e alua ion and he adminis a i e capaci y o such asks also di e s be ween membe s a es.
While he e is a s ong adi ion o e alua ing egional de elopmen in he no he n Eu opean
s a es, in sou he n s a es, such as G eece and I aly, he specialised e alua ion has no ye become
an in eg al pa o he adminis a i e sys em (Bach le –W en 2006:149).
E alua ion also di e s om p og amme o p og amme. A p og amme can include many a eas o
in e en ion (i s aims can be ela ed o physical o economic in as uc u e de elopmen , human
esou ces, esea ch, echnological de elopmen and inno a ion en i onmen al goals, suppo o
small and medium-sized business e c.), and a selec ion o inancial ins umen s can help i s
implemen a ion, which can b ing imp o emen s o many bene icia ies. In addi ion o his he co-
inancing o he p og ammes s ipula es s a e- o p i a e capi al con ibu ions, which u he
complica es he pic u e.
Thanks o he g ea in e es shown owa ds e alua ion, he EU cohesion policy and i s
accompanying me hodology ha e also mo ed o he cen e o a en ion and ha e become dispu ed
a eas. This is no su p ising conside ing he sums de o ed o he policy310 and he policy’s ole,
bu we mus be awa e ha he e a e many di e en ypes o analyses and me hodologies.
The o igin o mos disag eemen s conce ning e alua ions is ha hey a e based on di e ing
philosophical ounda ions. The mode n p ac ice o e alua ion can be aced back o h ee
philosophical adi ions; posi i ism, cons uc i ism and ealism. Posi i ism is based on he idea
ha i is possible o ob ain objec i e knowledge i we make obse a ions (Ta is ock Ins i u e –
309 Fo he same diag am see EC 2001:9 o EC 2006:4.
310 On he basis o he inancial plan e e ing o 2007-2013, he goals o he EU cohesion policy can
make use o 35.7% o he ull union budge , which ansla es o 347.41 billion Eu os.
469
GHK – IRS, 2003:21). Sepa a e indi iduals should, i hey employ he same ools o obse a ion
and analyse hei esul s wi h objec i e echniques, a i e a he same esul s. The posi i is
adi ion sea ches o egula i y and laws (jus as in na u al science) and he desc ip ion o
egula i y a ises om he agg ega ion o indi idual elemen s. Howe e he e a e many limi s o
he pu e o m o posi i ism, o example i is di icul o obse e eali y, i is di icul o obse e
i o ally and he obse e is pa o eali y and can he e o e change he en i onmen e c.
The limi s o posi i ism led o he o ma ion o he so-called pos -posi i is schools. The mos
adical de elopmen , and he one which ejec s mos o posi i ism’s assump ions, is
cons uc i ism, which ejec s he exis ence o ‘objec i e’ knowledge. Realism, concen a es on
he a ious in e connec ions, he elemen s, o he amewo k assump ions, in o de o help he
in e p e a ion o explana ions. This app oach a emp s o e eal he indi idual elemen s o he
p og ammes and policy backg ound mechanisms. (A ms ong – Wells 2006:263-266, Ta is ock
Ins i u e – GHK – IRS, 2003:22)
Di e en e alua ion me hods a e used o he di e en philosophical app oaches. Posi i ism
emains he dominan philosophical adi ion in he analysis o he e ec s o he s uc u al unds.
This in ol es mainly op-down e alua ions wi h he help o s a is ical echniques. Top-down
analysis means he collec ion o agg ega ed mac o-le el seconda y da a (such as egional
unemploymen ime se ies o indus ial loca ion c oss-sec ional da a), which a e analyzed wi h
di e en s a is ical me hods o example ime se ies eg ession analysis o ull econome ic
models, bu inpu -ou pu analysis and compu able gene al equilib ium (CGE) models a e also
used (A ms ong – Wells 2006:264). Bo om-up app oaches a e used in he posi i is model
inasmuch as mic o-le el da a a e collec ed and an a emp is made o agg ega e hem and
gene alise hem o he whole.
The ealis app oach ends o p epa e s udies based on la ge sample-size su eys o bene icia ies,
simila ly o pos al o elephone ques ionnai es, o mo e in-dep h and na owe - ocused
in e iews. In o he wo ds his app oach concen a es on pa icula i ies and on peculia i ies, as
opposed o he posi i is app oach which sea ches o gene alisa ions, empi ical egula i ies.
(A ms ong – Wells 2006:265)
The con en o he e alua ion can change as he p og amme p og esses, and can include
e alua ion be o e (ex-an e), du ing (mid- e m) and a e (ex-pos ) he p og amme. Di e en
e alua ion me hods can be applied o indi idual s ages o le els (see Table 1) A comp ehensi e
desc ip ion o indi idual e alua ion me hods can be ound on he Union’s e alua ion
homepage311.
I can be seen om he able ha mic o (bo om-up) and mac o ( op-down) app oaches can be
ound among he a ious me hods. Fo he mic o-le el analyses, such as he cos bene i analysis
he e is a amilia and well-es ablished esea ch backg ound (Mishan 1988), bu he li e a u e
examining he mac oeconomic e ec s o he communi y’s in e en ions also enjoys a solid
esea ch base (see e.g. Romp – De Haan 2005). The wo app oaches ha e adically di e en
me hodologies, as can be seen in Table 2, al hough ecen ly a emp s ha e been made o in eg a e
he wo app oaches (see B adley e al 2005).
311 This can be eached a he ollowing web add ess:
h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ egional_policy/sou ces/docgene /e alua ion/e alsed/sou cebooks/me hod_ echniques/i
ndex_en.h m, las consul ed on Ap il 20 h, 2009.
470
Table 1: Me hods and le els o e alua ion
Me hods o e alua ion
Le els o e alua ion
Be o e
Ongoing
A e
(ex-an e)
(mid e m)
(ex-pos )
Sociology ype me hods
1. SWOT analysis
++
+
2 Documen analysis
++
+
+
3 Pe sonal in e iew
+
++
4. Focus g oup
+
++
5. Case s udy
+
6. Pe sonal obse a ion
+
7. Expe panel
++
+
8. Ques ionnai e su ey
+
9. Delphi me hod
+
10. Compa ison (benchma king)
+
Pa ame e izable, exac me hods
11. Geog aphical In o ma ion Sys em
(GIS)
+
+
++
12. Cos bene i analysis
++
+
+
13. Shi -sha e analysis
+
++
14. Reg ession analysis
+
++
15. Fac o analysis
+
+
++
16. Inpu -ou pu model
+
++
17. Econome ic model
+
++
No e: ++ e e s o he mos equen e alua ion le el o me hods used a mo e han one le el
Sou ce: Rechni ze – Lados 2004:267
Table 2: T ade-o be ween mic o- and mac o-app oaches
Mic o (bo om-up)
Mac o ( op-down)
Gene al s uc u e
In o mal , lexible, use o
subjec i e elemen s
Fo mal, complex, objec i e,
based on beha iou al heo y
Le el o disagg ega ion
High (indi idual p ojec s)
Low (agg ega ed, whole
economy)
Use o heo ies
Weak (judgemen al)
S ong (mac oeconomics)
Model calib a ion
Judgemen al, in o mal
Scien i ic, econome ics
Policy impac s
Implici / anking
Explici /quan i ied
T ea men o
ex e nali ies
Usually igno ed
Usually explici ly modelled
Sou ce: B adley e al 2005:7
Fo he es o his pape we will examine he e ec i eness o he Union’s egional policy, and
o his examina ion he bes me hods a e mos ly case s udies, model simula ions and
econome ic analysis. In hese ields he li e a u e is ex emely ich; his pape only in ends o
d aw a en ion o he di e ences be ween e alua ion ypes and is in no way designed o p esen a
comp ehensi e summa y. In he las chap e o he pape , despi e he di e ing me hods, we will
y o d aw some kind o conclusion ega ding he e iciency o he ope a ion o he s uc u al

471
unds and o es ablish some c i e ia on he basis o which a mo e e icien use o aid may be
achie ed.
Re e ences
1. A ms ong, Ha ey W. – Wells, Pe e (2006): S uc u al Funds and Communi y Economic
De elopmen Ini ia i es. Regional S udies, 40(2) 259-272.
2. Bach le , John – Michie, Rona (1995): A new e a in EU egional policy e alua ion? The
app aisal o s uc u al unds. Regional S udies, 29(8) 745-751
3. Bach le , John – W en, Colin (2006): E alua ion o Eu opean Union Cohesion Policy:
Resea ch Ques ions and Policy Challenges. Regional S udies, 40(2) 143-153.
4. Ba e bu y, Sa ah C. E. (2006): P inciples and pu poses o Eu opean Union cohesion policy
e alua ion. Regional S udies, 40(2) 179-188.
5. B adley, John (2006): E alua ing he impac o Eu opean Union cohesion policy in less-
de eloped coun ies and egions. Regional S udies, 40(2) 189-199.
6. B adley, John – Mi ze, Timo – Mo gen o h, Edga – Un ied , Ge ha d (2005): An In eg a ed
Mic o-7. Mac o (IMM) App oach o he E alua ion o La ge-scale Public In es men
P og ammes: The Case o EU S uc u al Funds. Wo king Pape , GEFRA, Müns e . h p://
www.es i.ie/ pd / WP167_ An%20 In eg a ed%20 Mic o.pd . Downloaded: 27.06.2006
8. EC (2001): Indica o s o Moni o ing and E alua ion: An indica i e me hodology. The New
P og amming pe iod 2000-2006: me hodological wo king pape s. WORKING PAPER 3.
h p://ec. eu opa.eu/ egional_ policy/ sou ces/doco ic/wo king/doc/indic_en.pd
9. EC (2006): Indica i e guidelines on e alua ion me hods: ex an e e alua ion. The New
P og amming Pe iod 2007-2013: Wo king Documen No.1. h p://ec. eu opa.eu/ egional_policy/
sou ces/ doco ic/ 2007/ wo king/ wd1_exan e_en.pd
10. Fo man Balázs (2001): Az Eu ópai Unió s uk u ális és előcsa lakozási alapjai. Hunga ian
Delega ion o he Eu opean Commission, In e p ess, Budapes .
12. Mishan, Edwa d J. (1988): Cos -bene i analysis: an in o mal in oduc ion. Unwin Hyman,
London.
13. Molle, Willem (2006): E alua ing he EU cohesion policy. Con e ence ma e ial p oduced by
RSA, h p://www. egional-s udies-assoc.ac.uk/e en s/leu en06/molle.pd . Downloaded:
08.07.2007
Rechnicze János – Lados Mihály (2004): A e üle i s a égiák ól a moni o ingig. Dialog Campus,
Pécs – Budapes .
14. Romp, W. – De Haan, J. (2005): Public capi al and economic g ow h: a c i ical su ey. EIB
Pape s, 10(1) 40-70. h p://www.eib.o g/a achmen s/e s/ eibpape s/ y05n1 10/
02_Romp_deHaan.pd . Downloaded: 08.07.2007
15. Ta is ock Ins i u e – GHK – IRS (2003): The E alua ion o Socio-Economic De elopmen :
The Guide. Ta is ock Ins i u e, London. h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ egional_policy/ sou ces/ docgene /
e alua ion/ e alsed/ downloads/ he_guide.zip, Downloaded: 24.10.2007