[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/ecpoli/v36y2021i106p237-286..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

EU transfers and euroscepticism: can’t buy me love?

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Borin
  • Elisa Macchi
  • Michele Mancini
Abstract
SUMMARYThe future of an institution, such as the European Union, ultimately depends on people’s support. This paper investigates whether EU redistributive policies have improved public attitudes towards European integration, both in terms of public opinion and political preferences. We focus on Cohesion Policy funds, whose allocation allows us to single out these effects by means of a regression discontinuity approach. The results show that EU transfers have mitigated the rise of Eurosceptical attitudes and reduced political consensus for anti-EU parties. The effects are homogeneous across different socio-economic groups, including the most disadvantaged ones. The improvement in public support for the EU does not appear to be exclusively a spillover of the positive economic effect of funding; we show evidence suggesting the existence of a ‘reciprocity-effect’ channel, that is, citizens in recipient regions recognize the beneficial role of the EU as the source of funding.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Borin & Elisa Macchi & Michele Mancini, 2021. "EU transfers and euroscepticism: can’t buy me love?," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 36(106), pages 237-286.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:36:y:2021:i:106:p:237-286.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/epolic/eiaa028
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sascha O. Becker & Peter H. Egger & Maximilian von Ehrlich, 2013. "Absorptive Capacity and the Growth and Investment Effects of Regional Transfers: A Regression Discontinuity Design with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 29-77, November.
    2. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Post-Print hal-02381560, HAL.
    3. Yann Algan & Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou & Evgenia Passari, 2017. "The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 309-400.
    4. Chase Foster & Jeffry Frieden, 2017. "Crisis of trust: Socio-economic determinants of Europeans’ confidence in government," European Union Politics, , vol. 18(4), pages 511-535, December.
    5. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2012. "Too much of a good thing? On the growth effects of the EU's regional policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 648-668.
    6. Sala-i-Martin, Xavier X., 1996. "Regional cohesion: Evidence and theories of regional growth and convergence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1325-1352, June.
    7. Robert C. Feenstra & Gordon H. Hanson, 1999. "The Impact of Outsourcing and High-Technology Capital on Wages: Estimates For the United States, 1979–1990," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 907-940.
    8. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    9. Ruben Durante & Paolo Pinotti & Andrea Tesei, 2019. "The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2497-2530, July.
    10. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson & Jae Song, 2014. "Trade Adjustment: Worker-Level Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1799-1860.
    11. Sascha Becker & Thiemo Fetzer & Dennis Novy & Sascha O. Becker, 2017. "Who Voted for Brexit?," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 15(04), pages 03-05, December.
    12. Sascha O Becker & Thiemo Fetzer & Dennis Novy, 2017. "Who voted for Brexit? A comprehensive district-level analysis," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 32(92), pages 601-650.
    13. Luigi Guiso & Helios Herrera & Massimo Morelli & Tommaso Sonno, 2017. "Demand and Supply of Populism," EIEF Working Papers Series 1703, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Feb 2017.
    14. Guiso, Luigi & Herrera, Helios & Morelli, Massimo & Sonno, Tommaso, 2018. "Global Crises and Populism: the Role of Eurozone Institutions," CEPR Discussion Papers 12944, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Sjef Ederveen & Henri L.F. de Groot & Richard Nahuis, 2006. "Fertile Soil for Structural Funds?A Panel Data Analysis of the Conditional Effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 17-42, February.
    16. Antràs, Pol & de Gortari, Alonso & Itskhoki, Oleg, 2017. "Globalization, inequality and welfare," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 387-412.
    17. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2010. "Going NUTS: The effect of EU Structural Funds on regional performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(9-10), pages 578-590, October.
    18. Guiso, Luigi & Herrera, Helios & Morelli, Massimo & Sonno, Tommaso, 2018. "Populism: Demand and Supply," CEPR Discussion Papers 11871, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Marco Manacorda & Edward Miguel & Andrea Vigorito, 2011. "Government Transfers and Political Support," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 1-28, July.
    20. Aadne Cappelen & Fulvio Castellacci & Jan Fagerberg & Bart Verspagen, 2003. "The Impact of EU Regional Support on Growth and Convergence in the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 621-644, September.
    21. Fabrizio Balassone & Sandro Momigliano & Marzia Romanelli & Pietro Tommasino, 2018. "Just Round the Corner? Pros, Cons, and Implementation Issues of a Fiscal Union for the Euro Area," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(1), pages 5-34.
    22. Guido Pellegrini & Flavia Terribile & Ornella Tarola & Teo Muccigrosso & Federica Busillo, 2013. "Measuring the effects of European Regional Policy on economic growth: A regression discontinuity approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(1), pages 217-233, March.
    23. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/gjf8d7tah8ah9mq53gkdj73cq is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Jensen, J. Bradford & Quinn, Dennis P. & Weymouth, Stephen, 2017. "Winners and Losers in International Trade: The Effects on US Presidential Voting," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 423-457, July.
    25. Karen Helene Midelfart-Knarvik & Henry G. Overman, 2002. "Delocation and European integration: is structural spending justified? [‘Specialization patterns in Europe’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 17(35), pages 321-359.
    26. Eichenberg, Richard C. & Dalton, Russell J., 1993. "Europeans and the European Community: the dynamics of public support for European integration," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(4), pages 507-534, October.
    27. Boeri, Tito & Jimeno, Juan F., 2016. "Learning from the Great Divergence in unemployment in Europe during the crisis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 32-46.
    28. Sjed Ederveen & Joeri Gorter & Ruud de Mooij & Richard Nahuis, 2003. "Funds and Games: The Economics of European Cohesion Policy," Occasional Papers 03, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes.
    29. Italo Colantone & Piero Stanig, 2018. "The Trade Origins of Economic Nationalism: Import Competition and Voting Behavior in Western Europe," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(4), pages 936-953, October.
    30. Hobolt, Sara B. & de Vries, Catherine E., 2016. "Turning against the union? The impact of the crisis on the Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 66831, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    31. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1divsbu8t888r9vqektjbmlqoa is not listed on IDEAS
    32. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:41:y:2003:i::p:621-644 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Anderson, Christopher J. & Reichert, M. Shawn, 1995. "Economic Benefits and Support for Membership in the E.U.: A Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 231-249, September.
    34. Maaike Beugelsdijk & Sylvester C.W. Eijffinger, 2005. "The Effectiveness of Structural Policy in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis for the EU‐15 in 1995–2001," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 37-51, March.
    35. Ruben Durante & Paolo Pinotti & Andrea Tesei, 2019. "The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2497-2530, July.
    36. McGraw, Kathleen M., 1991. "Managing Blame: An Experimental Test of the Effects of Political Accounts," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(4), pages 1133-1157, December.
    37. Accetturo, Antonio & de Blasio, Guido & Ricci, Lorenzo, 2014. "A tale of an unwanted outcome: Transfers and local endowments of trust and cooperation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 74-89.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Lewis Dijkstra, 2021. "Does Cohesion Policy reduce EU discontent and Euroscepticism?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 354-369, February.
    2. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Di Cataldo, Marco & Giua, Mara, 2020. "It’s not about the money. EU funds, local opportunities, and Euroscepticism," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Bayerlein, Michael & Diermeier, Matthias, 2022. "Exchanging money for love? A regional analysis of EU cohesion policy on euroscepticism," Kiel Working Papers 2219, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Albanese, Giuseppe & Barone, Guglielmo & de Blasio, Guido, 2022. "Populist voting and losers’ discontent: Does redistribution matter?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Riccardo Crescenzi & Marco Di Cotaldo & Mara Guia, 2019. "It’s not about the money! EU funds, local opportunities, and the Brexit vote," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 149, European Institute, LSE.
    6. Dante Di Matteo & Ilaria Mariotti, 2021. "Italian discontent and right‐wing populism: determinants, geographies, patterns," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 371-396, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lechler, Marie, 2019. "Employment shocks and anti-EU sentiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 266-295.
    2. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & von Ehrlich, Maximilian, 2018. "Effects of EU Regional Policy: 1989-2013," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 143-152.
    3. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Di Cataldo, Marco & Giua, Mara, 2020. "It’s not about the money. EU funds, local opportunities, and Euroscepticism," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Riccardo Crescenzi & Marco Di Cotaldo & Mara Guia, 2019. "It’s not about the money! EU funds, local opportunities, and the Brexit vote," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 149, European Institute, LSE.
    5. Marco Di Cataldo, 2016. "Gaining and losing EU Objective 1 funds: Regional development in Britain and the prospect of Brexit," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 120, European Institute, LSE.
    6. Albanese, Giuseppe & Carrieri, Vincenzo & Speziali, Maria Maddalena, 2021. "Looking for a Star: Evaluating the Effect of the Cohesion Policy on Regional Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 14521, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Albanese, Giuseppe & Barone, Guglielmo & de Blasio, Guido, 2022. "Populist voting and losers’ discontent: Does redistribution matter?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    8. Arnstein Aassve & Gianmarco Daniele & Marco Le Moglie, 2018. "Never Forget the First Time: The Persistent Effects of Corruption and the Rise of Populism in Italy," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1896, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    9. Florian Dorn & Clemens Fuest & Lea Immel & Florian Neumeier, 2020. "Economic Deprivation and Radical Voting: Evidence from Germany," ifo Working Paper Series 336, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Chen, Mingli, 2016. "Estimation of Nonlinear Panel Models with Multiple Unobserved Effects," Economic Research Papers 269326, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    11. Chen, Shuai, 2020. "Unemployment, Immigration, and Populism: Evidence from Two Quasi-Natural Experiments in the United States," GLO Discussion Paper Series 652, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Snower, Dennis J. & Bosworth, Steven J., 2021. "Economic, social and political fragmentation: Linking knowledge-biased growth, identity, populism and protectionism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    13. Mara Giua, 2014. "Spatial Discontinuity for the Impact Assessment of the EU Regional Policy. The Case of Italian Objective 1 Regions," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0197, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    14. Chen, Shuai, 2019. "Marriage, minorities, and mass movements," Other publications TiSEM 9cb1b11d-12e6-46a8-adca-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. Maria Coelho, 2019. "Fiscal Stimulus in a Monetary Union: Evidence from Eurozone Regions," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 67(3), pages 573-617, September.
    16. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Neil Lee & Cornelius Lipp, 2021. "Golfing with Trump. Social capital, decline, inequality, and the rise of populism in the US," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(3), pages 457-481.
    17. Eugenio Levi & Isabelle Sin & Steven Stillman, 2021. "Understanding the Origins of Populist Political Parties and the Role of External Shocks," Working Papers 21_09, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    18. Lechler, Marie, 2018. "Employment Shocks and anti-EU Sentiment," Discussion Papers in Economics 49414, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    19. Gianluigi Coppola & Sergio Destefanis & Giorgia Marinuzzi & Walter Tortorella, 2021. "Regional policies and sectoral outputs in the Italian regions. A multi-input multi-output counterfactual approach," Discussion Paper series in Regional Science & Economic Geography 2021-08, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Social Sciences, revised May 2021.
    20. Eugenio Levi & Fabrizio Patriarca, 2020. "An exploratory study of populism: the municipality-level predictors of electoral outcomes in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 833-875, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Euroscepticism; EU transfers; EU crisis; cohesion policy; voting; regression discontinuity; redistributive politics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:36:y:2021:i:106:p:237-286.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cebruuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.