Call for Papers!

The European Study Group at the University of Arizona is soliciting papers for possible publication as a ESG Discussion paper. Papers on all aspects of Europe will be considered. They can be targeting a general audience or an audience of specialists. To submit a paper, please email a Word document to dallerba@email.arizona.edu.

Discussion Papers

EUC 07-01
Regional Convergence and the Impact of European Structural Funds over 1989-1999: A Spatial Econometric Analysis
Sandy Dall'erba and Julie Le Gallo

Abstract: This paper raises two important issues that have been neglected in previous econometric estimations of the impact of structural funds on regional growth. First, we use some spatial econometric methods to assess the extent of spillover effects across regions. Second, we control for the problem of endogeneity of the funds which is due to them being allocated according to a region's past income levels. Still very few papers treat endogeneiy in a spatial econometric context. Our results indicate that the funds have no impact on regional growth and that those allocated to peripheral regions never spill over their neighbors. This calls for a reconsideration of current regional policies.

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EUC 07-02
Impact of Structural Funds on Regional Growth: How to Reconsider a 7 Year-Old Black-Box?
Sandy Dall'Erba, Rachel Guillain, Julie Le Gallo

Abstract: Econometric estimations of the impact of structural funds on the growth process of the European regions started 7 years ago. However, it is striking to realize that all previous estimations in this field are based on some form of the neoclassical growth model (Solow’s model). This model is still widely used despite the numerous critics it has raised (Quah, 1996) and its lack of consideration for increasing returns to scale, which are at the heart of agglomeration and growth processes according to endogenous growth theories and new economic geography models. In addition, few estimations have paid attention to the nature of the cohesion objectives under study. For example, the expected impact of objective 1 funds, devoted to public infrastructures, is indeed theoretically and empirically very different from the one of objective 3 funds devoted to long-term unemployed. As a result, the aim of this paper is to propose a careful assessment of the impact of structural funds on the manufacturing sector of 145 European regions in the context of a Verdoorn’s law for the period 1989-2004. First, the results are presented with total structural funds and funds differentiated by objective. Second, interregional linkages are included by means of spatial econometric techniques. Third, potential endogeneity of the explanatory variables is taken into account.

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EUC 01-08
The European Union and Agricultural Negotiations in the Doha Development Round
Kyle McNally, Halima Woodhead

Abstract: Recent international trade negotiations have largely been focused on agricultural policy and trade practices. The European Union represents an integral figure in this arena of trade. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, turned World Trade Organization has been the stage for said negotiation. This paper evaluates the dynamic relationship between the EU and the WTO. Recent negotiations have not produced any substantial tangible progress, and uncertainty currently surrounds the future of international agricultural negotiations. We provide a brief history of EU's agricultural policy (the Common Agricultural Policy) from the Treaty of Rome to present, considered in the context of WTO negotiations, followed by brief analysis of the WTO and its major actors. Proposals for reforms lack sufficient uniformity and the different actors continue to rest in stalemate with one another about actions for sincere reform. Finally, this paper includes what we consider progress in this issue; the European Union provides some examples of genuine reform, and the overall status of WTO negotiations hints at a new emerging status quo of international trade negotiations.

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EUC 02-08
The Dynamics of Turkish Immigration in Northern Europe: Perspectives from Germany, Denmark, and Norway
Mike Hathaway, Monica Martinez, James Mack

Abstract: Western Europe’s post-war economic boom and subsequent demand for low-cost labor produced a trend of labor migration in which developed European nations actively recruited guest-workers from the Mediterranean basin. The unexpected long-term residencies of guest-workers in host countries resulted in cultural and economic hardships coupled with the dislocation of Turkish families within Europe. This article deals with Turkish labor migration within Western Europe and focuses primarily on the examples of Germany, Denmark and Norway. Along with outlining the history and context of Turkish labor migration the article aims to illustrate the failings of host nations to adequately integrate emerging minority populations. The article further discusses the social, cultural and economic marginalization of minority migrant groups and resulting issues of religious radicalization, violence and xenophobia. While the article establishes an extensive need for improved integration throughout Europe, overall, it argues that integration conditions in Germany surpass those in Denmark and Norway. In Germany for example, younger Turks are proponents of cultural heterogeneity as well as adversaries of its affects on cultural purity. While they seek a space of belonging for both their families and their customs, they also seek a culture that transcends the confines of Europe. In Denmark, immigrant populations have been described in the context of “under- and over-representation.” While Danish Turks are economically underrepresented, there is cultural saturation of traditionally “immigrant” issues incited by the Danish media. Finally, Norway’s preference for European Union nationals in the country has made non-EU immigrants, including Turks, less prevalent an issue in modern Norway. The article concludes with a compare/contrast analysis of Turkish demographics in Europe and argues that Europe’s future success depends upon its ability to abandon current assimilation tactics in favor of more integrated approaches to cultural, ethnic and religious heterogeneity.

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