European cohesion policy and sustainable development goals 1, 8 and 10

Subnational governments are increasingly involved in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Europe, the policy efforts to achieve the SDGs increasingly recognise the importance of regional disparities and structural differences between regions, issues that have historically been addressed by European cohesion policy. In this paper, we quantify the potential impact of the European cohesion policy 2021–2027 on three interrelated SDGs in NUTS 2 regions of the European Union, using a spatial dynamic general equilibrium model. Our results suggest that cohesion policy can deliver significant results for SDGs 1, 8 and 10, which relate to poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth and reduction of economic disparities, respectively.