1,721,111 research outputs found
The contribution of European Structural Funds to territorial cohesion
No full textEuropean regional and cohesion policy is a territorially discriminating policy: it operates in selected areas only. Its main aims, however, have traditionally been to support economic and social development in lagging regions or regions affected by specific challenges. In other words, whilst being discriminating territorially, European regional policy - as defined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty (former Article B), and Article 2 and 158 of the EC Treaty - is essentially a policy for economic and social development
Ruolo, criticità e potenziale della valutazione per la politica di sviluppo regionale in Italia
No full textCohesion policy in the southern periphery
No full textThis chapter discusses the implementation of Cohesion policy in the southern member states (MSs) of the European Union: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. Together these countries account for more than a quarter of the European population (25.63 per cent) and almost 22 per cent of the EU28 aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) (2014 data). They are rather diverse in terms of the territorial development challenges faced, regional policy traditions and institutional set-up. Malta and Cyprus, which joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, are small island economies with marginal regional disparities. The main goal of Cohesion policy in these countries has been to assist national growth. Greece and Portugal, with their circa 10 million inhabitants each, face challenges of territorial balance, related predominantly to the polarisation of development in the capital regions and along the Attika–Thessaloniki (in Greece) and coastland–inland (in Portugal) axes. However, rather than overcoming regional disparities, the primary concern of economic and regional policies in these countries has also been the desire to enhance national growth. Italy and Spain, on the other hand, are large states with historically rooted regional imbalances. The main focus of Cohesion policy here has been the development of lagging regions
Plant hormone cross-talk: the pivot of root growth
No full textRoot indeterminate growth and its outstanding ability to produce new tissues continuously make this organ a highly dynamic structure able to respond promptly to external environmental stimuli. Developmental processes therefore need to be finely tuned, and hormonal cross-talk plays a pivotal role in the regulation of root growth. In contrast to what happens in animals, plant development is a post-embryonic process. A pool of stem cells, placed in a niche at the apex of the meristem, is a source of self-renewing cells that provides cells for tissue formation. During the first days post-germination, the meristem reaches its final size as a result of a balance between cell division and cell differentiation. A complex network of interactions between hormonal pathways co-ordinates such developmental inputs. In recent years, by means of molecular and computational approaches, many efforts have been made aiming to define the molecular components of these networks. In this review, we focus our attention on the molecular mechanisms at the basis of hormone cross-talk during root meristem size determination
Administrative traditions and the role of conditionality for governance reforms: evidence from the EU regional innovation policy
Full text linkThis study examines how governments from different administrative traditions reformed their innovation policy governance following the adoption of the Smart Specialisation approach of EU cohesion policy for the 2014–2020 funding period. Based on four case studies, it argues that different administrative settings played a role in the uptake of intended governance reforms and that thematic ex ante conditionalities were not sufficient to guarantee substantial change in the absence of continuing political and bureaucratic support. The analysis supports the idea that governments and administrations which were already better aligned with the Smart Specialisation logic may have had limited incentive to update their governance structures, while those less aligned with it appeared sincerely motivated to overhaul existing arrangements, yet without proving capable of sustaining the desired changes
Assessing the evidence : the evaluation of regional policy in Europe
Full text linkThis paper examines the evaluation of national regional policies in Europe
THE USE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE 2014-2020 PERIOD
Full text linkEmpowerment via delegation? : The administrative capacity-building potential of Cohesion Policy urban development strategies
Full text linkThe study examines the implementation of urban development strategies in Scotland, UK, and the Veneto Region of Italy and fills an important gap in the knowledge about the capacity-building potential of such strategies. Following a principal-agent approach, the investigation shows that narrow delegation models incentivize compliance, are less conducive to capacity-building and reinforce an administrative capacity paradox. By contributing an original framework for the study of delegation models, a fine-grained understanding of administrative capacity that acknowledges the importance of agency for the success of capacity-building initiatives and policy recommendations for the period 2021–27, the research will be of interest to scholars and practitioners alike
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