Absorption of Structural Funds – International Comparisons and Correlations

Structural Funds represent one of the main instruments which The European Union uses to sustain regional development and to eliminate disparities between members. Specialized literature is relatively poor when it comes to approaching this subject. In the period 2002-2006, several papers were written, which identified the absorption process's influence factors, but all these materials represented ex-ante analysis, the empirical testing of theories being virtually impossible. The present paper, based on available statistical data related to the absorption process, aims at testing these factors, trying to elucidate the great differences obtained by the EU members within Central and Eastern Europe.