Impact of European Structural and Investment Funds on the Slovak Economy

Abstract

The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) represent a valuable tool of the European Union. EU countries use the funds to finance activities focused on different areas. They are primarily aimed at reducing regional disparities between regions. The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of the European Structural and Investment Funds on economic indicators in Slovakia. To achieve this aim, the paper examines the evolution of economic indicators between the years 2007 and 2021. Secondary data on the drawing of the European Structural and Investment Funds in Slovakia in the period under review are identified. The impact is detected in the paper based on regression and correlation analysis. Established on the correlation and regression analysis outcome, we can argue that there is a dependence between the implementation of ESIF and the economic indicators, although the implementation of the ESIF has a small impact on gross domestic product and unemployment.