Building on the findings of the first project phase, the project goal is to examine the efficiency and redistribution effects that occur as a result of EU structural policies. These comprise one of the EU’s main tasks, consuming one third of its budget. Their importance has increased with the eastern enlargement of the Union. A focus of this study is the analysis of the connection between regional tax competition to attract firms and capital and federal infrastructure subsidies for the promotion of the regional economy. Different aspects of structural policies must be considered: the financing instruments of the federal authorities; the mobility of budgets, enterprises and factors of production that can be used directly or indirectly as a tax basis for the financing of structural policies in case of an increase of the EU member contributions; the heterogeneity of regions in terms of size; and information asymmetries between supra-regional and regional authorities concerning the efficient appropriation of regional infrastructure. Furthermore, the redistribution effects of European structural policies will be analysed. An alliance of member states that only pursue their own interest can hardly lead to efficient EU policies aimed at increasing the common good.
Modelling of the above-mentioned problems in migration and tax competition models, empirical examination of the theoretical results.
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