Reforming EU Cohesion policy: a reappraisal of the performance of the Structural Funds is the title of an article by John Bachtler and Grzegorz Gorzelak (EUROREG, University of Warsaw) just published in a special issue of 'Policy Studies' (Volume 28, No.4, December 2007, pp.309-326).
The article examines the evidence for the performance of Cohesion policy since 1988, with a view to testing four main assumptions: that convergence is taking place at national and regional levels; that Cohesion policy has made a durable contribution to convergence and regional restructuring, in terms of GDP and employment; that Cohesion policy funds have been spent in the most effective way; and that there is a wider added value from Cohesion policy spending.
The paper goes on to consider issues for the budget review and how the effectiveness of Cohesion policy at European level might be improved. A copy of the article may be obtained here