Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment

This text discusses the role of transfers designed for assisting sustainable development of less developed regions within the European Union. It places special emphasis on the future path of the Greek economy and discusses likely outcomes related directly to the impact of these transfers in, growth and macroeconomic convergence, employment in key sectors of the economy and energy demand and its environmental aspect.Macroeconomic modelling and modern applied econometric techniques are used to analyze these issues, thus offering a coherent methodological framework for their presentation. To this extent, it can serve to inform academic researchers and economists in recipient countries, who can gain a better understanding of how national authorities can best design and implement the strategic allocation and utilization of these funds to maximize the benefits for the domestic economy. The study could also benefit policymakers in the European Union by offering a sound and rigorously elaborated treatment which can be applied as an estimation and comparison tool for the effects of Structural Funds, both at the national and the international level. It may also be of interest to economists in Eastern European countries which are at the pre-accession stage and will be eligible for this type of transfers in the near future.