The Impact of European Integration and

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The Impact of European Integration and
Enlargement on Regional Structural Change and
Cohesion Dr. Iulia Traistaru Center for European
Integration Studies, University of Bonn E-mail
traistaru_at_uni-bonn.de Tel. [phone] Fax
49-228-73 1809
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Overview

• Objectives
• Research Questions
• Theoretical Framework
• Policy Relevance
• Value Added
• Project Structure
• Partnership
• Research Output
• Main Results

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Objectives
Overall Objective Empirical analysis of the
impact of economic integration on regional
structural change and cohesion in the enlarged EU
Detailed Objectives Patterns and changes in
regional production structures and economic
performance in EU-15, NMS and AC The role of
FDI in fostering regional structural
change Policy challenges for cohesion in the
enlarged EU
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Research Questions

• To what extent does economic integration affect
• regional production structures?
• How does regional structural change affect
  regional
• performance?
• What role does FDI play in regional structural
  change?
• Which types of regions are more affected by
  structural change?
• What policy implications for cohesion in an
  enlarged EU?

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Theoretical Framework

• Traditional Trade Theory
• New Economic Geography
• Neo-classical Growth Theory
• Endogenous Growth Theory

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Policy Relevance

• Regional production structures changes impact on
  welfare
• Probability of asymmetric shocks in an enlarged
  EU
• Achieving economic cohesion at the EU and
  national levels

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Value Added

• Novel empirical evidence on spatial implications
  of integration (via trade and FDI) from EU-27
  regions
• Novel data sets dissagregated national data
  sets including firm-level data and comparable
  EU-25 data sets
• International research network on integration
  and regional structural change

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Project Structure
Workpackage 1 Theoretical and Methodological
Framework Workpackage 2 Regional Structural
Change in EU 15 Workpackage 3 Regional
Structural Change in NMS and AC Workpackage 4
The Role of FDI Workpackage 5 Research
Lessons and Policy Implications
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Partnership
Coordinator Center for European Integration
Studies, University of Bonn (ZEI) Partners Insti
tute for World Economics, University of Kiel
(IfW) University Luigi Bocconi, Milan
(UNIBOC) Economic and Social Research
Institute, Dublin (ESRI) University of
Thessaly, Volos (UTH) Institute of World
Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
(IWE) Institute of Economics, Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences (BAS)
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Cooperation
WP1 Coordinator ZEI Partners IfW, UNIBOC,
ESRI, UTH, IWE, BAS WP2 Coordinator
IfW Partners ZEI, UNIBOC, ESRI,
UTH WP3 Coordinator UTH Partners ZEI, IWE,
BAS WP4 Coordinator UNIBOC Partners ZEI
ESRI, IWE, BAS WP5 Coordinator ESRI Partne
rs ZEI, IfW, UNIBOC, UTH, IWE, BAS
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Research Output
WP1 State-of-the-art (Literature review) WP2
Country papers EU-15 (A, GE, F, P, SP, IRL, IT,
GR) Cross-contry report EU-15 Analytical
studies EU 15 (14 analytical studies) WP3
Country papers NMS and AC (HU, PL, BG, RO, CZ,
SK) Cross-country report NMS Analytical
studies NMS (11 analytical studies) WP4 Countr
y papers (HU, PL, RO, BG, CZ) Cross-country
report FDI in NMS Analytical studies (10
analytical studies) WP5 Policy paper on
spatial implications of economic
integration Policy paper on FDI and regional
development Edited book The Impact of
European Integration on Regional Structural
Change and Cohesion (forthcoming from
Routledge)
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Main Results

• Regional structural change in EU-15
• Slow changes of regional production structures
• Convergence of regional industrial structures
• Poor economic performance of regions specialised
  in
• agriculture and resource intensive
  industries
• Diversified regions performed better
• Trade integration has had a direct positive
  effect on growth
• cycle correlations and a negative indirect
  effect via regional
• specialisation

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Main Results

• Regional structural change in NMS and AC
• Deep structural change, increasing regional
  inequalities
• Core - periphery patterns are evident
• Regions highly integrated and close to EU-15
  performed better
• Regions specialised according to comparative
  advantages
• performed better
• Regions with diversified economic structures
  similar
• with EU-15 performed better

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Main Results

• FDI and regional development in NMS
• Highly concentrated in capitals and western
  border regions
• One third of FDI is high tech, the rest is low
  tech
• High tech FDI locate in advanced NMS, low tech in
  less
• developed
• FDI location choice determined by economic
  factors rather
• than incentives
• FDI choose to locate in specifc regions rather
  than countries