Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/189891 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
MNB Working Papers No. 2017/8
Publisher: 
Magyar Nemzeti Bank, Budapest
Abstract: 
Although EU funds play a pivotal role not only for Hungary but for the entire European Union as well, there is debate regarding their effectiveness in the literature. This paper investigates the impact of direct economic development subsidies extended in the context of the Cohesion Policy programmes as part of the 2007-2013 programming period of the European Union, on Hungarian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on a micro database, we assess the effects of the beneficiaries' first subsidies on various performance indicators, using a combination of propensity score matching and fixed effects panel regression. According to our results, economic development funds had a significant positive impact on the number of employees, sales revenue, gross value added and in some cases, operating profit. However, the labour productivity of beneficiaries was not significantly affected by any of the support schemes. Furthermore, by explicitly comparing non-refundable subsidies (grants) and refundable assistance (financial instruments) extended under the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, we find that there is no significant difference in their effectiveness.
Subjects: 
programme evaluation
EU subsidies
firm-level effects
propensity score matching
fixed effects
JEL: 
D04
G38
H25
O22
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.