Final Report

Call for tender by open procedure no. 2007.CE.16.0.AT.032 for the ex post evaluation of cohesion policy programmes 2000-2006 co- financed by the European Fund for Regional Development (Objectives 1 and 2) Work package 7: “Effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy: Gender Equality and Demographic Change” FINAL REPORT July 2009 IRS, Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale CSIL, Centre for Industrial Studies Prepared for: European Commission Directorate General Regional Policy Policy Development Evaluation Unit Final Report This study was carried out by a team selected by the Evaluation Unit, DG Regional Policy, European Commission, through a call for tenders by open procedure no. 2007.CE.16.0.AT.032. The consortium selected comprised IRS - Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale (lead partner) and CSIL, Centre for Industrial Studies. The Core Team included: - Manuela Samek Lodovici, Project Director; - Flavia Pesce and Silvia Vignetti Project Coordinators; - Scientific Advisors: Charlotte Höhn (Federal Institute for Population Research); Gianfranco Viesti (University of Bari); Paola Villa (University of Trento). - Senior experts: Ivana Fellini (University of Milan), Julie Pellegrin (Csil); Renata Semenza (Università di Milano); Maria Letizia Tanturri (University of Pavia); Alessandro Valenza (Csil); Giancarlo Vecchi (Irs and University of Parma). - Research assistants: Silvia Beltrametti; Julien Bollati; Jessica Catalano; Valentina Patrini; Monica Patrizio. A network of country experts provided geographical coverage for the field analysis. The authors are grateful for the very helpful comments from the EC staff and particularly to Veronica Gaffey, Kai Stryczynski and José-Luís Calvo de Celis. They also wish to thank the stakeholders and beneficiaries who were available for interviews and data collection for the field analysis. The authors are fully responsible for any errors or omissions. Quotation is authorised as long as the source is acknowledged II Work Package 7: “Effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy: Gender Equality and Demographic Change” Acronyms DG REGIO Directorate General for Regional Policy EAGGF European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund EC European Commission ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESF European Social Fund EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment FIFG Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance GDP Gross Domestic Product GIA Gender Impact Assessment ICT Information and Communication Technology LFS Labour Force Survey NDP National Development Programme NGO Non-governmental Organisation NTI New Technologies of Information OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OP Operational Programme PPS Purchasing Power Standard RTDI Research, Technological Development and Innovation R&D Research and Development SME Small and Medium Enterprise SPD Single Programming Document TOR Terms of Reference WP Work Package III Work Package 7: “Effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy: Gender Equality and Demographic Change” TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 13 1. BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 15 1.1 Aim and context of the evaluation........................................................................................................ 15 1.2 The analytical framework ...................................................................................................................... 16 1.3 Methodology for case studies................................................................................................................ 24 2. REGIONAL POLICY APPROACHES TO DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES AND GENDER EQUALITY.......................................................................................................................................................... 29 2.1 Overview of the selected regions .......................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Strategies for demographic change....................................................................................................... 33 2.3 Strategies for gender equality................................................................................................................ 41 2.4 Demographic changes and gender equality: the need for an integrated and multi-level governance framework.................................................................................................................................. 48 3. THE ERDF CONTRIBUTION TO ADAPTATION TO DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE................. 53 3.1 Measures addressing ageing.................................................................................................................. 54 3.2 Measures addressing demographic imbalances and migration ....................................................... 57 3.3 Main lessons learnt.................................................................................................................................. 67 4. THE ERDF CONTRIBUTION TO GENDER EQUALITY ................................................................. 69 4.1 The effective ERDF contribution to female entrepreneurship and female employment .............. 70 4.2 Social infrastructures and services........................................................................................................ 73 4.3 Main lessons learnt.................................................................................................................................. 76 5. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS......................................................... 79 5.1 Demographic change and gender equality in the ERDF 2000-2006 programmes.......................... 79 5.2 Policy implications.................................................................................................................................. 86 REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................................... 89 1 Final Report LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLES Table 1 - ERDF intervention areas and working hypotheses ....................................................................... 23 Table 2 - Measures selected in relation to Demographic Change................................................................ 39 Table 3 - Measures selected in relation to Gender Equality.......................................................................... 46 Table 4 - Demographic change and gender equality dimensions addressed by ERDF interventions, working hypothesis tested, lesson learnt and condition for success.................................. 84 FIGURES Figure 1 - Overview of the case study methodology..................................................................................... 24 Figure 2 – Total employment (aged 15-64) and unemployment rates in the 12 selected regions, 2000 and 2006 ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 3 - Per capita GDP in PPS terms in the 12 selected regions relative to the EU25 average, 2000 and 2006 ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 4 - Total fertility rate in 1999 and Old age dependency ratio in 2000 and 2005 in the 12 selected regions................................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 5 - Gender gaps in employment and unemployment in the 12 selected regions, 2000 and 2006....................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 6 - Female employment rate in the 12 selected regions, 2000 and 2006.......................................... 31 2 Work Package 7: “Effectiveness of the Cohesion Policy: Gender Equality and Demographic Change” Executive summary Aim and context of the evaluation The present evaluation provides an assessment of the extent to which the ERDF supported regions in adapting to demographic change and fostering gender equality, as well as a better understanding of what ERDF interventions can deliver in this respect during future planning periods. Demographic change and gender equality are major concerns on the European policy agenda and are also issues closely related and particularly relevant to socio-economic development. In recent years European regions have had to face increasing demographic challenges which put their growth potential at risk. Population ageing and a shrinking working age population may affect key drivers of regional growth, undermining regional competitiveness and increasing the need for social services, age-related infrastructures and pension expenditures, which call for additional public resources. Migration can only partially counterbalance these effects and requires socio-economic integration measures. At the same time, most European regions (even if with differences) are still facing persistent gender inequalities in the labour market and in the social and

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