The impact of territorial capital on Cohesion Policy in rural Polish areas

This study evaluates the outcomes of the European Union's Cohesion Policy on rural areas in Poland between 2007 and 2018. Stratified propensity score matching was used to examine whether policy impact depends on the type of local territorial capital involved. Inputs and outcomes between individual municipalities with similar territorial capital characteristics and conditions of socio-economic development were modelled and compared. The results show that more advanced development of non-agricultural functions and also a reduced agricultural function led to greater Cohesion Policy effectiveness. Thus, convergence, or the evening out of differences in socio-economic development, does not take place at the local (intraregional) level.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the impact of EU Cohesion Policy on rural areas in Poland and finds that the effectiveness of the policy is dependent on the type of territorial capital involved. Specifically, the development of non-agricultural functions and reduction in agricultural function leads to greater policy effectiveness.