EU Cohesion Policy and regional club clustering: A comparative analysis of NUTS2 regions in Europe

Peter Leško; Eva Muchová; Radka Lešková

doi:10.18778/1231-1952.33.1.07

Authors

Peter Leško Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic, Institute of Digital and Regional Policies; Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3240-6721
Eva Muchová Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9758-5313
Radka Lešková Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2192-9316

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.33.1.07

Keywords:

EU, territorial cohesion, club clustering, NUTS2 region

Abstract

This paper assesses territorial cohesion in the EU by examining whether 242 NUTS2 regions converge to a common steady state or form distinct convergence clubs. Using regional GDP per capita data for 2000–2022 and EU Cohesion Policy payments per capita for 2000–2020, we estimate absolute and conditional β-convergence models and apply k-means clustering based on initial income, growth performance, and funding intensity. The results indicate aggregate convergence, but a strongly uneven spatial pattern: regions group into three convergence clubs with different development trajectories. While some initially poorer regions exhibit strong catching-up, other clusters show weak or very slow convergence despite substantial funding. These findings support the Club Convergence hypothesis and underline the need for more place-based cohesion interventions tailored to regional structural conditions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

ARTELARIS, P., KALLIORAS, D. and PETRAKOS, G. (2010), ‘Regional inequalities and convergence clubs in the European Union new member-states’, Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 1, pp. 113–133.

CAVALLARO, E. and VILLANI, I. (2021), ‘Club convergence in EU countries: A sectoral perspective’, Journal of Economic Integration, 36 (1), pp. 125–161. https://doi.org/10.11130/jei.2021.36.1.125

CRESCENZI, R. and GIUA, M. (2020), ‘One or many Cohesion Policies of the European Union? On the differential economic impacts of Cohesion Policy across member states’, Regional Studies, 54 (1), pp. 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2019.1665174

BACHTRÖGLER, J., FRATESI, U. and PERUCCA, G. (2020), ‘The influence of the local context on the implementation and impact of EU Cohesion Policy’, Regional Studies, 54 (1), pp. 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2018.1551615

BARRO, R. J., SALA-I-MARTIN, X., BLANCHARD, O. J. and HALL, R. E. (1991), ‘Convergence across States and Regions’, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 22 (1), pp. 107–182. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534639

BARTKOWSKA, M. and RIEDL, A. (2009), ‘Regional convergence clubs in Europe: Identification and conditioning factors’, SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1438007

ESPINOZA, R. A. (2021), ‘The Fiscal Multiplier of European Structural Investment Funds: Aggregate and Sectoral Effects with an Application to Slovenia’, IMF Working Papers 2021, 118. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513573762.001

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2024), Cohesion Open Data Platform, https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/ [accessed on: 01.10.2025].

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2024), History of the Policy, https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/what/history_en [accessed on: 12.09.2025].

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2024), Ninth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion, Publications Office of the European Union, https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information-sources/cohesion-report_en [accessed on: 14.09.2025].

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2022), EU lagging regions: State of play and future challenges, QA-04-20-488-EN-N, Publications Office of the European Union.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2020), Territorial Agenda 2030, https://territorialagenda.eu [accessed on: 06.09.2025].

EUROSTAT (2024), Overview - Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts [accessed on: 30.08.2025].

FIASCHI, D., LAVEZZI, A. M. and PARENTI, A. (2017), ‘Does EU cohesion policy work? Theory and evidence’, Journal of Regional Science, 57 (1), pp. 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12364

FIURATTI, F., NIKOLOVA, D., PENNINGS, S. and SCHIFFBAUER, M. (2024), ‘Are Regional Fiscal Multipliers on EU Structural and Investment Fund Spending Large? A Reassessment of the Evidence’, Policy Research Working Paper No. 10658. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10658

FORAY, D., DAVID, P. A. and HALL, B. H. (2011), ‘Smart specialisation from academic idea to political instrument, the surprising career of a concept and the difficulties involved in its implementation’, MTEI Working Paper.

HAGEN, T. and MOHL, P. (2011), ‘16 Econometric evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy: a survey’, International Handbook on the Economics of Integration: Factor Mobility, Agriculture, Environment and Quantitative Studies, 3, 343. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806152.00030

HARB, G., BASSIL, C. and EL SAHLI, Z. (2024), ‘Club convergence in productivity among European regions: Recent evidence and policy implications’, Journal of Economic Integration, 39 (3), pp. 525–556. https://doi.org/10.11130/jei.2024026

LÓPEZ-BAZO, E. (2022), ‘The Impact of Cohesion Policy on Regional Differences in Support for the European Union’, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 60, pp. 1219-1236. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13153

MANKIW, G. N. (2022), Macroeconomics, eleventh edition, New York: MacMillan Publishers.

MEDEIROS, E. (2016), ‘Territorial cohesion: An EU concept’, European Journal of Spatial Development, 14 (1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5141339

OECD (2023), ‘OECD Regional Outlook 2023: The Longstanding Geography of Inequalities’, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/92cd40a0-en

REGULATION (EU) 2021/1060 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R1060 [accessed on: 03.09.2025].

SOLANES, G. J., BEYAERT, A. and LOPEZ-GOMEZ, L. (2024). ‘Income convergence clubs in the Eurozone: a tale beyond the core/periphery divide’, Applied Economic Analysis, 33 (97), pp. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEA-02-2024-0085

SOLOW, R. M. (1956), ‘A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70 (1), pp. 65–94. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884513

WHITE, H. (1980), ‘A heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimator and a direct test for heteroskedasticity’, Econometrica, 48 (4), pp. 817–838. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912934