Cohesion policy post-2027

In this paper, we evaluate the effects of a large-scale and continuing place-based policy in China. In 1994, the Chinese central government designated 592 counties as National Poor Counties (NPC), which have been receiving preferential treatment in several aspects. Our identification strategy exploits a discontinuous criterion for determining a county's eligibility of the programme. We find that the NPC programme failed to foster local economic growth. Further investigation suggests that local capture is partly responsible for this failure. Our findings yield important policy implications that, in countries with limited local accountability, place-based policies characterised by decentralised implementation are not always a blessing.

Despite being the second most populated region in Brazil, the Northeast has persistently accounted for a small share of national income. A well‐known attempt to develop the region was made in 1959 with the creation of SUDENE, a big push type of place‐based policy resulting in an intensification of industrial investments. Historical data sets are used to make comparable input–output tables at a 31 sector level for 1959 and 1980, and input–output analysis is applied to appraise transformations. Developments in the following decades are also discussed.

Advancing the debate on the rationale for place-based policies, in which circumstances they should be used, and what type of place-based policies might be relevant in a given context.

Many development policies, such as placement of infrastructure or local economic development schemes, are “place-based.” Such policies are generally intended to stimulate private sector investment and economic growth in the treated place, and as such they are difficult to appraise and evaluate. This paper sets out a framework for analyzing the effects of such policies and assessing their social value. It then reviews the literature on place-based policies in the contexts of transport improvements, economic corridors, special economic zones, lagging regions, and urban policies.