The problem of regional disparities in the EU is of major economic, political and social importance. Cohesion policy seeks to reduce regional disparities through its resources. Slovenia is confronting with differences in its stage of development, as well as other EU Member States. The diversity of regions from the natural and social aspect is an advantage for the country, if they are successfully exploited. Differences from the economic aspect could limit future growth increase instability in the political dimension. Promoting balanced regional development can be equated with stimulating economic development as a whole.
The aim of the diploma work is to highlight the problem of economic differences between the regions of the Republic of Slovenia and to investigate the impact of the funds from the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund on the development of the regions of the Republic of Slovenia. Using selected demographic, economic, environmental and labour market and human capital indicators, the diploma work will show the differences between regions within a specific annual framework, using accessible statistics. The correlation coefficient was used to establish the relationship between the development of regions and the amount of funds received, and the coefficient of variation influenced the impact of cohesion policy on reducing regional disparities.
The selected indicators showed that cohesion funds have a positive impact on the development of regions in the RS, but despite the allocated funds, regional differences between its regions do not change on a large scale. Cohesion policy aims to reduce the disparities between more and less developed regions, which means that less developed regions should receive more funding. In Slovenia, this cannot be confirmed, since, according to the data analysis, the less developed regions did not receive the most funds, but only slightly more than the more developed regions, which was verified by the correlation coefficient. Using the coefficient of variation and the analysis of the regional GDP index, we found that interregional differences during the time of absorption of funds during the considered period were decreasing but unevenly. In order to further reduce regional disparities in the future, underdeveloped regions and projects providing economic development should be given priority in the allocation of resources.
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