New EU member states have been more effective at spending European Regional Development Funding than old member states

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) provides funding for projects aimed at strengthening economic and social cohesion in the European Union. However the extent to which EU countries successfully spend the funding they have been allocated (often referred to as their ‘absorption rate’) varies between different states. Jale Tosun shows that there is a positive relationship between ERDF absorption and government capacity, with new member states that joined the EU in the 2004 enlargement demonstrating higher absorption rates than old member states. Member states with high income levels are also less likely to maximise the absorption of their allocations, while there is also some support for the principle that decentralisation within states has a negative impact on their absorption performance.