The RHOMOLO impact assessment of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy in the EU regions

We assess the macroeconomic impact of the 2014-2020 EU cohesion policy programmes, based on updated data on planned expenditure. We use the spatial dynamic general equilibrium RHOMOLO in order to quantify the direct and indirect effects of the policy in the NUTS 2 regions of the EU. The results suggest that the impact of the programmes is sizeable, especially in the less developed regions of the EU. Accordingly, regional disparities are shown to decrease thanks to the policy intervention. The policy has also a positive net impact at the EU level, especially in the medium and long run.