Where does EU money eventually go? The distribution of CAP expenditure across the European space

This paper aims to assess the distribution of overall Gross Domestic Product and employment effects produced by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments across the European Union space. It is empirically investigated how policy funds redistribute their effects among regions with different levels of rurality and economic development according to their degree and form of integration. This analysis is performed by constructing and applying a multiregional Input–Output model at a very high level of geographical disaggregation (NUTS 3 level). Alternative allocation of funds across regions (policy scenarios) are considered in order to assess redistributive impacts of possible CAP reforms. Results show that the impacts generated by the CAP across space do not only depend on the initial allocation of funds but also on intersectoral and interregional linkages. This evidence implies that even a radical reallocation of funds, though it may contribute to reducing regional imbalances, is less redistributive than expected.