In recent years, the European Commission has attached increasing importance to the use of financial engineering instruments rather than traditional grant-based financing for the microcredit sector, considering these to be the most efficient option available.This book presents a study of capacity...

The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) are the prime instrument of EU regional policy. European policy makers place considerable hope into their growth stimulating funding measures to overcome current economic stagnation. Consequently, there is a strong need for credible evidence...

The European Structural and Investment Funds make up more than 40% of the EU budget and are thereby the EU's most important financial support to growth, employment, investment and structural change. The funds are programmed for (overlapping) seven-year periods, and all programmes for the new...

Die EU-Strukturfonds machen in der Finanzperiode von 2014 bis 2020 erstmals den größten Haushaltsposten der Europäischen Union (EU) aus. Bisherige Evaluationen zur Wirksamkeit der Förderung zeigen widersprüchliche Ergebnisse. Eine neue, robuste Studie des RWI findet keine positiven...

Einleitung -- Alexander Rüstow und die Vitalpolitik -- Rüstow als Vertreter des Ordoliberalismus und des "soziologischen Liberalismus" -- Die Vitalpolitik -- Relevante Einflüsse auf Rüstow -- "Liberaler Interventionismus" -- Vitalpolitik als Ansatz der Befähigung -- Jenseits...

Notes on contributors -- Introduction: reassessing the performance and direction of cohesion policy in 2014-20 / John Bachtler, Peter Berkowitz, Sally Hardy and Tatjana Muravska -- The impact of cohesion policy -- The long-term effectiveness of eu cohesion policy : assessing the achievements of...

Regional disparities within the European Union have always been perceived as an impediment to monetary integration. This is why discussions on a joint currency, from their very beginning, were linked to compensatory payments in the form of regional policy payments. Structural assistance to poor...

Introduction: Understanding the Effectiveness of EU Cohesion Policy -- The Evaluation of EU Cohesion Policy -- A Different Approach to Evaluating Cohesion Policy : Theory-Based Evaluation -- What was the Problem? Regional Development Challenges and Needs -- Regional Strategies and their...

This cumulative dissertation contains four self-contained articles which are related to EU regional policy and its structural funds as the overall research topic. In particular, the thesis addresses the question if EU regional policy interventions can at all be scientifically justified and...