European transfers: evaluation and consequences

103 EUROPEAN TRANSFERS: EVALUATION AND CONSEQUENCES T ón, Zsuzsanna Facul y o Economics and Business Adminis a ion, Uni e si y o Deb ecen, Hunga y Láng, Esz e Facul y o Economics and Business Adminis a ion, Uni e si y o Deb ecen, Hunga y The pape is an e alua ion o EU egional policy. We e alua e he ins i u ions ela ed o egional de elopmen in he EU-15 wi h he help o hose guiding p inciples es ablished by he EU o gua an ee he mos e ec i e ealisa ion o he common egional policy. Those p inciples a e decen alisa ion, addi ionali y, p og amming, pa ne ship, e iciency (abso p ion capaci y), and anspa ency. The s udy d aws a clea pic u e o he no he n - sou he n di e ences among he Eu opean coun ies. No dic coun ies ( oge he wi h The Ne he lands) consis en ly show he bes esul s. They a e socially iche , seem mo e equal, enjoy lowe le els o co up ion, good go e nance and a high quali y o democ acy. Key wo ds: EU egional policy, ans e s, e alua ion JEL code: F15, R58 In o de o e alua e he ins i u ions ela ed o egional de elopmen in he EU-15, we mus ind app op ia e c i e ia o judgemen . The bes choice would be hose guiding p inciples es ablished by he EU78 o gua an ee he mos e ec i e ealisa ion o he common egional policy. To complemen his i would be a good idea o examine he e ec s o Eu opeaniza ion, which also indica e he adap a ion o changes. An examina ion o decen alisa ion shows ha he mo e space a coun y allows o i s p o inces (see ede alised s a es), o egions ( egionalised, decen alised s a es), he less i has o s uggle wi h p oblems caused by egional di e ences. This is illus a ed by Fig. 1, which shows changes in egional a ia ion as a unc ion o ypes o s a e. The so-called uni a y, o s ong cen al go e nmen membe s a es, a e much less able o deal success ully wi h di e ences wi hin coun ies (Ho á h 2004). An impo an p econdi ion o he e icien use o suppo s is ha he ans e s help he g ow h o p i a e in es men a he han c owding i ou . I we conside capi al in es men made by egional and local au ho i ies as a p opo ion o o al go e nmen in es men (Fig. 2.), hen we can also see ha G eece has he mos cen alised sys em, while in Belgium 80-90% o in es men s a e coo dina ed a a egional o local le el. The basic p inciple o addi ionali y, as desc ibed in he case o p og ammes suppo ed in he Objec i e 1. amewo k, is ha membe s a es ag ee wi h B ussels be o ehand on he le el o na ionally p o ided common inance, which in gene al should no be lowe han ha achie ed in he pe iod p eceding he suppo s. The ex e nal examina ions ca ied ou a e he 1994-99 and he 2000-2006 pe iods showed ha his was no achie ed e e ywhe e (EC 2004:100). The pe o mance o The Ne he lands and Sweden was, howe e , ou s anding. Midel a -Kna ik and O e man (2002) howe e , show ha he e is clea e idence om he suppo s di ec ed o he p ocessing indus y ha a highe le el o EU suppo is accompanied by lowe s a e suppo , while a lowe le el a ac s a highe le el o s a e suppo . 78 These a e decen alisa ion, addi ionali y, p og amming, pa ne ship, e iciency (abso p ion capaci y), anspa ency. 104 Fig. 1.: Changes in egional di e ences be ween mos and leas de eloped egions Sou ce: Ho á h (2004) Fig. 2.: Capi al expendi u e by egional and local au ho i ies (1995-2004) Sou ce: EC (2007:147) In he analysis o he ollowing basic p inciples he in o mal ins i u ional sys em o he membe s a es is compa ed wi h a ious indica o s o egional policy. These include he e ec i eness o p og amming and he abso p ion capaci y which can be measu ed agains he quali y o s a e egula ion acco ding o he Wo ld Bank’s Go e nmen E ec i eness Index79. These indica o s show e y well he ad an age enjoyed by Scandina ian na ions o e Medi e anean na ions; he highes alues a e ound in Denma k, Finland, Sweden and Holland, while he lis is closed by I aly and G eece. O he s udies (eg. Van de Walle 2005) comes o he same conclusions. Limi ing hei examina ion o he ins i u ions o he social sys ems Bakács and Bo kó (2006) es ablish a anking o he compe i i eness o he Scandina ian and Medi e anean models, compa ed o he 79 This index gi es a nume ical alue o bu eauc a ic expe ise and he quali y o public se ices, based on da a collec ed om 30 sepa a e da abases by he Wo ldwide Go e nance Indica o s p ojec . 105 Con inen al and Anglo-Saxon models, and he e he Scandina ian model is i s and he Medi e anean model las ( o he bu eauc acy and he poli ical clien ism o he sou he n s a es see So i opoulos 2004). Acco ding o he concep o pa ne ship exp essed in he EU’s dec ees, one o he keys o he e icien and anspa en use o suppo s is ha du ing he planning s age he in e es s o local, egional, sec o al and social g oups should be aken in o accoun o he maximum ex en , because on his basis he a ious ac o s will be able o claim and use he sou ces a ailable. In he con ex o he p inciple o pa ne ship in he p ocess o social ag eemen an impo an ole is also played by communica ion and by he publica ion o he de ails o he s uc u al unds. The ques ion a ises, howe e , whe he he ela ionships a e buil on he basis on he Pu nam s yle mu ual o e s o help and mu ually sha ed in o ma ion, o whe he he g oupings a e o med in he Olson s yle, based on bonds o med o ep esen g oup in e es s, en -seeking beha iou and lobby in e es s. F om his pe spec i e we can also examine he gene al le els o social us and he co up ion indexes in he old EU membe s a es. In he LSE PS’s (2007) s udy on social capi al a anking was es ablished wi h Scandina ian-Medi e anean poles a each end o he scale (Fig. 3.), o show he esul s ob ained om he Special Eu oba ome e ques ionnai e. The esul s a e simila as men ioned abo e. Fig. 3.: Gene alised (social) us in in e na ional compa ison Sou ce: LSE PS (2007:14) The appea ance o co up ion can also be compa ed using he Wo ld Bank’s Wo ldwide Go e nance Indica o which examines o wha ex en he public sec o uses i s powe o achie e pe sonal ends, and he e he highe alues ep esen he cleane , less co up coun ies (Fig. 4.). Finally, we demons a e he nega i e ela ionship be ween he inequali y wi hin coun ies and he le el o us be ween indi iduals, (Fig. 5.), whe e, once again, he Scandina ian communi ies s and ou . As we can see, No dic coun ies ( oge he wi h The Ne he lands) consis en ly show he bes esul s. They a e socially iche , seem mo e equal, enjoy lowe le els o co up ion, good go e nance and a high quali y o democ acy. 106 Fig. 4.: Le els o co up ion in di e en models (2005) No e: 10 – no co up ion, 0 – high co up ion; so he lowe he index alue he highe he le el o co up ion. Sou ce: Bakács – Bo kó (2006:17) on he basis o he T anspa ency In e na ional CPI (Co up ion Pe cep ion Indices). Fig. 5.: T us and inequali y Sou ce: LSE PS (2007:76) The ques ion a ises whe he he high le el o social capi al gene ally p oduces hese posi i e ac o s and hus he mo e e icien use o suppo s, o whe he he Scandina ians only appea as G Gi in ni i i in nd de ex x ( (i in nd de ex x o o i in ne eq qu ua al li i y y) ) I In n e e p pe e s so on na al l u us s 107 excep ions , which means ha a high le el o social capi al is so closely linked o No dic cul u e ha i canno be copied and epea ed elsewhe e. The ques ion hen, is whe he he e exis s a No dic model which can be copied as good p ac ice, o whe he his phenomenon is linked o No dic cul u e, which is his o ically de e mined and hus is unlikely o be easily ans e ed o o he s. I is di icul o deny he mo e pessimis ic e sion. Acco ding o Pu nam e al (2003) social capi al changes ela i ely slowly and i is di icul o change i wi h conc e e poli ical measu es, al hough a emp s ha e been made (see TÁRKI 2005). On he o he hand, by examining cul u e we can a i e a an unde s anding o he p esen s a e o ins i u ions, and o he p ac ical ac i i ies ca ied ou and i is e iden ha he e oo changes a e occu ing; i is enough o e e he e o he p ocesses and changes o Eu opeaniza ion in he new membe s a es. F om his pe spec i e i seems ha a leas some hing can be lea ned om he No dic expe ience, o example, how he links be ween he ci il sphe e and he s a e a e ins i u ionalised and how hey ake shape in conc e e de elopmen asks o maximise he e ec s o good go e nmen ; and how socie y akes pa in he day o day business o o mula ing special policy and go e nmen . In any case i is necessa y o conduc a deepe analysis in o how is i possible ha hose who a e he leas needy can use he de elopmen unds mos e icien ly, while hose who a e in eal need do no ul il he p econdi ions o e iciency. Re e ences 1.Bakács And ás – Bo kó Tamás (2006): Az állami sze ep állalás eu ópai modelljei. Iceg, Munka üze 13. 2.EC (2004): EU Economy 2004 Re iew, Chap e 2: Ca ching-up, G ow h and Con e gence o he New Membe S a es. DG Economy and Finance, h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ economy_ inance/ publica ions/ eu opean_economy/ 2004/ ee604 ull epo _en.pd 3.EC (2007): G owing Regions, g owing Eu ope. Fou h epo on economic and social cohesion. Az Eu ópai Unió Bizo sága, B üsszel. h p://eu opa.eu.in /comm/ egional_policy/ sou ces/ doco ic/ o icial/ epo s/ cohesion4_en.h m. Accessed: 2007. 05. 31. 4.Ho á h Gyula (2004): Eu ópai egionális poli ika. Dialóg Campus, Budapes -Pécs. 5.LSE PS (2007): Social Cohesion, T us and Pa icipa ion: Social Capi al, Social Policy and Social Cohesion in he Eu opean Union and Candida e Coun ies. Moni o ing Repo , Eu opean Obse a o y on he Social Si ua ion - Social Capi al Ne wo k, Londol School o Economics and Poli ical Science. h p://ec.eu opa.eu/ employmen _ social/ spsi/ docs/ social_ si ua ion/ 2007_mon_ ep_soc_cap.pd . Accessed: 2008.04.20. 6.Midel a -Kna ik, Ka en Helene – O e man, Hen y G. (2002): Deloca ion and Eu opean In eg a ion: is S uc u al Spending Jus i ied? Economic Policy, Vol. 35. ok . 323-359. 7.Pu nam, Robe D. – Leona di, Robe – Nane i, Ra aella Y. (1993): Making Democ acy Wo k: Ci ic T adi ions in Mode n I aly. P ince on Uni e si y P ess, P ince on. 8.So i opoulos, Dimi i A. (2004): Democ a iza ion, Adminis a i e Re o m and he S a e in G eece, I aly, Po ugal and Spain: Is The e a 'model' o Sou h Eu opean Bu eauc acy? Hellenic Obse a o y Discussion Pape No17, Hellenic Obse a o y, LSE. h p:// www.lse.ac.uk/ collec ions/ hellenicObse a o y/ pd / DiscussionPape s/ So i opoulos17.pd . Accessed: 2008.04.09. 9.Tá ki (2005): A á sadalmi őke nö elésének lehe őségei ejlesz éspoli ikai eszközökkel. h p://www. a ki.hu/ada bank-h/ku jel/pd /a768.pd . Accessed: 2006. 02. 23. 10.Van de Walle, S e en (2005): Measu ing Bu eauc a ic Quali y in Go e nance Indica o s. S udy G oup on P oduc i i y and Quali y in he Public Sec o , Be n. h p://soc.kuleu en.be /io /egpa /qual /be n /Vandewalle. pd . Accessed: 2008. 04. 20.