Equalising or polarising: The centre–periphery model and the absorption of EU funds under regional operational programmes in Poland

Abstract

This article seeks to assess how the absorption of European the Union funds by the Polish voivodeships reflects two basic types of strategy in their allocation, i.e. the polarising and the equalising model. The analysis embraced 16 regional operational programmes (ROPs) between 2007–2013. The frame of reference adopted in the research was the centre-periphery model. Classes of peripherality were distinguished for each voivodeship, and absorption profiles of EU funds were determined for areas differing in their levels of peripherality. The goal of the article was achieved in a multi-stage research procedure ending in the construction of a synthetic index of the spatial orientation of support within the ROPs. The analysis demonstrated that the features of the polarising model tended to predominate in intra-regional policy. In most cases, however, the distribution of EU support represented a mixed model, with a shift towards the polarising one.