No abstract

The issue of institutional capacity has received increased attention in the research on policy integration, bringing about the proliferation of conceptions aimed at capturing the linkage between crosssectoral aspects of policy designs and the specific attributes that governmental institutions and processes should possess in order to effectively formulate and implement integrated policies. This article contributes to reducing conceptual and analytical fragmentation in this field by elaborating on the different dimensions which compose the broadly defined 'institutional capacity' and outlining its link with policy integration. More specifically, our objective is threefold. First, we elaborate on the theoretical and conceptual accounts of institutional capacity with particular regard to integrated policy designs, suggesting an analytical framework that unpacks the different dimensions of institutional capacity through a range of empirical indicators. Second, we discuss the analytical, conceptual and empirical challenges that arise with the study of institutional capacities for policy integration, drawing also on the main findings provided by the contributions to the Thematic Issue. Third, we suggest some promising venues for future research and collect a number of policy-relevant recommendations on institutional capacity, policy integration and policy effectiveness.

Davies S. and Polverari L. Financial accountability and European Union Cohesion policy, Regional Studies. Many changes in European Union Cohesion policy since the late 1990s have been driven by the need to ensure and demonstrate financial accountability. This paper examines how the increased emphasis on financial management, control and audit in relation to the European Union budget is reshaping the governance of Cohesion policy, as well as the instruments of financial accountability. It also assesses the effects of these new instruments on financial flows and considers how these changes are perceived by policy-makers. Lastly, it explores the difficulties of assessing the impact of administrative changes on financial accountability in Cohesion policy. [image omitted] Davies S. et Polverari L. La responsabilite financiere et la politique de l'Union europeenne en faveur de la cohesion, Regional Studies. Depuis la fin des annees 90, les nombreuses modifications a la politique de l'Union europeenne en faveur de la cohesion ont ete conduites par la necessite d'assurer et de faire preuve de la responsabilite financiere. Cet article cherche a examiner comment l'accent mis de plus en plus sur les notions de gestion, de controle et d'audit financiers par rapport au budget de l'Union europeenne finit par remodeler la gouvernance de la politique en faveur de la cohesion, ainsi que les outils de responsabilite financiere. On evalue aussi l'impact de ces nouveaux outils sur les flux financiers et considere comment ces modifications sont appeciees par le decideurs. Pour conclure, on examine les difficultes d'evaluer l'impact des changements adminsitratifs sur la responsabilite financiere pour ce qui est de la politique en faveur de la cohesion. Responsabilite Gestion financiere Audit Politique en faveur de la cohesion Fonds structurels Davies S. und Polverari L. Finanzielle Rechenschaft und Kohasionspolitik der Europaischen Union, Regional Studies. Viele Veranderungen in der Kohasionspolitik der Europaischen Union seit dem Ende der neunziger Jahre gehen auf das Bedurfnis zuruck, eine finanzielle Rechenschaft sicherzustellen und nachzuweisen. In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, wie die verstarkte Betonung der finanziellen Verwaltung, Kontrolle und Prufung im Zusammenhang mit dem Etat der Europaischen Union die Umsetzung der Kohasionspolitik sowie die Instrumente der finanziellen Rechenschaft umgestaltet. Ebenso werden die Auswirkungen dieser neuen Instrumente auf die Finanzstrome erortert, und es wird untersucht, wie diese Veranderungen von den Politikern beurteilt werden. Schliesslich werden die Schwierigkeiten bei einer Beurteilung der Auswirkung der administrativen Veranderungen auf die finanzielle Rechenschaft in der Kohasionspolitik erortert. Rechenschaft Finanzverwaltung Prufung Kohasionspolitik Strukturfonds Davies S. y Polverari L. Responsabilidad financiera y la politica de cohesion de la Union Europea, Regional Studies. Muchos de los cambios en la politica de cohesion de la Union Europea desde finales de los noventa ha...

The period from the late 1990s to the early 2000s witnessed trends of decentralisation, deconcentration or devolution of competencies from the national to the sub-national levels in a variety of countries. Implicit or explicit in many of the discussions about devolution is the assumption that, by bringing the design and delivery of policy 'closer to the people', it increases accountability. The main proposition of this article is to test this common assumption. Focusing, as a test case, on the implementation of European Union Cohesion Policy in two meso-level territorial units with recent experience of devolution, the article investigates empirically whether the new, devolved institutional framework within which the policy operates is indeed more conducive to accountability.

The paper investigates the European Union (EU)-Brazil and EU-China regional policy dialogues, viewed as vectors of crossnational policy transfer. Regional policy is considered as having limited transfer potential due to its inward orientation, context specificity and complexity. Yet, knowledge exchange and voluntary policy transfer have taken place between the EU and Brazil and between the EU and China since the mid-2000s. The study investigates and compares actors, motivations, mechanisms of transfer, conditioning factors and types of outcomes, shedding a light on the underresearched phenomenon of international policy transfer in regional policy.