Call for papers. The Regional Impact of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds: Evidence, Challenges and Methodological Advances

Posted on 2026-07-27

The Galician Journal of Economics/Revista Galega de Economía invites submissions of original papers for a special issue devoted to the regional analysis of the economic, social and territorial impacts of the European Union’s Structural and Cohesion Funds.

Since its inception, Cohesion Policy has been one of the European Union’s principal instruments for promoting economic convergence, social cohesion and balanced territorial development. The scale of the resources mobilised through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF/ESF+) and the Cohesion Fund has generated growing interest in assessing their actual effects on regional development, competitiveness, innovation, employment, sustainability and the reduction of territorial disparities.

Against a backdrop of new economic, social and environmental challenges, a changing global geopolitical environment and the implementation of exceptional European funding instruments, it is especially important to deepen understanding of these policies’ effects on European regions and to improve the methods and tools used to evaluate them.

 TOPICS OF INTEREST

Theoretical and empirical contributions are welcome on topics including, but not limited to, the following research areas:

  • The impact of Structural and Cohesion Funds on regional economic growth. 
  • Territorial convergence and divergence in the European Union. 
  • Effects on productivity, innovation and regional competitiveness. 
  • Impact on the labour market, employment and human capital. 
  • Social cohesion, inclusion and the reduction of territorial inequalities. 
  • Rural, urban and metropolitan development. 
  • Green transition, sustainability and territorial resilience. 
  • Digital transformation and smart specialisation. 
  • Multi-level governance and institutional quality in the implementation of the funds. 
  • Comparative analyses across regions, countries and programming periods. 
  • Spatial effects, externalities and territorial spillovers associated with interventions financed by the European Union.

Particular consideration will be given to papers that offer methodological innovations in the instruments used to analyse and evaluate the regional impact of European funds.

Papers must be original and unpublished and must not be under consideration by any other publication. Manuscripts must comply with the editorial guidelines of the Galician Journal of Economics/Revista Galega de Economía and will undergo external evaluation through a double-blind peer-review process. The deadline is 28 February 2027. Accepted articles will be published on-line approximately one month after acceptance.

GUEST EDITORS

Roberto Bande

Department of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

roberto.bande@usc.es

Matías Mayor

Department of Applied Economics, Universidad de Oviedo

mmayorf@uniovi.es

Diana Fernández Méndez

Department of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

di.fernandez.mendez@usc.es

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