Financing European Rural Development
Author
von Bothmer, Philipp
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2008
Abstract
This thesis addresses a clear puzzle in EU rural development policy: in the 2000–2006 programming period, no Member State absorbed all funds planned for rural development, and many fell well short of financial plans. Drawing on European Commission statistics and evaluation reports, it asks why funds remain unspent. While insufficient national co‑financing is often cited, the thesis argues this is only a partial explanation. Its core hypothesis is that a mismatch between the institutional development and administrative routines shaped by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the cohesion‑style funding principles and programming requirements adopted for rural development creates complexity and administrative obstacles that hinder efficient absorption. The analysis is grounded in historical institutionalism and path dependency to trace how the ‘evolution’ of CAP institutions conditions implementation capacity and choices. By comparing rural development funding instruments with those of EU regional and structural policy and through two case studies (Denmark and Germany), the study examines economic and social trends, institutional arrangements, programming and administrative bottlenecks, and the role of evaluation and monitoring in participation. In doing so, it seeks to explain under‑absorption by linking institutional legacy to instrument design; specific findings and conclusions are presented later in the thesis and are not fully available in this excerpt.
Specialet adresserer et tydeligt paradoks i EU’s landdistriktspolitik: I programmeringsperioden 2000–2006 formåede ingen medlemsstat at anvende alle de midler, der var planlagt til landdistriktsudvikling, og mange lå markant under de finansielle planer. Med udgangspunkt i Kommissionens statistiske og evaluative rapporter stilles spørgsmålet, hvorfor midlerne ikke bliver fuldt absorberet. En udbredt forklaring er manglende national medfinansiering, men specialet argumenterer for, at dette kun er en del af billedet. Hypotesen er, at et misforhold mellem den institutionelle udvikling og forvaltning under den fælles landbrugspolitik (CAP) – der i vidt omfang præger landdistriktsområdet – og de finansieringsprincipper og programmeringskrav, der er hentet fra EU’s regionale og strukturelle politik, skaber kompleksitet og administrative barrierer, som hæmmer effektiv optag af midler. Analysen er forankret i historisk institutionalisme og path dependency for at belyse, hvordan CAP’s institutionelle ‘evolution’ påvirker implementeringskapacitet og beslutningsveje. Gennem sammenligning af finansieringsinstrumenter i landdistriktsudviklingspolitikken med samhørighedspolitikkens paradigmer samt to casestudier (Danmark og Tyskland) undersøges økonomiske og sociale udviklingstræk, den institutionelle opbygning, programmerings- og administrationsproblemer samt betydningen af evaluering og monitorering for deltagelsen. Specialet søger dermed at forklare underudnyttelsen af midler ved at koble institutionel arv og design af finansieringsinstrumenter; konkrete resultater og konklusioner præsenteres senere i afhandlingen og fremgår ikke fuldt ud af dette uddrag.
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