Structural Funding and Intrastate Regional Disparities in Post-Communist Countries

Abstract

The intent of this paper is to provide empiricalevidence about associations between structuralfund allocation in the Czech Republic’s micro-regions for the programming period 2007 to2013, and intrastate regional disparities by consideringthe three traditional pillars of sustainabledevelopment. The results have mixed evidence,both supporting and not supporting various associations.Economically disadvantaged micro-regionshad less structural fund allocation in theeconomic pillar of sustainable development. Tothe contrary, socially disadvantaged micro-regionswere allocated more structural funds inthe social pillar of sustainable development.Therefore, a compensatory effect in sustainabledevelopment was observed between economicand social pillars. Results in the environmentalpillar were insignifi cant. The results in this paperprovide an ambivalent conclusion regardingthe contention that spatial distribution of structuralfunding actually contributes to a reductionin intrastate regional disparities at the micro-regionallevel. However, micro regions with bettereconomic conditions, e.g. agglomeration economies,better human capital and patent activities– received more structural funding in total.

Keywords

• cohesion policy, regional disparities, sustainable development, the czech republic.