EU Regional Policy and the UK

Abstract

This chapter sheds light on the effectiveness of EU Regional Policy with a particular focus on the UK. Some taxpayers in the UK might be concerned whether the EU spends their contributions to the EU Regional Policy budget wisely, independent of whether EU money returns to the UK or not. Also, some UK taxpayers might wonder whether the UK has benefited itself from EU funding. Finally, some UK citizens might be concerned about what would replace EU Regional Policy transfers to some regions in the UK, if the UK were to leave the EU. We address all of these questions and complement our analysis with some historical background on EU Regional Policy.