European Social Fund: Evolution and geographic allocation. The case of Spain

Abstract

espanolEl Fondo Social Europeo (FSE) es el instrumento fiscal de la Union Europea para la ejecucion de politicas laborales. Esta orientado, principalmente, al incentivo de Politicas Activas de Empleo en regiones con deficiencias en su mercado de trabajo. Este trabajo analiza la evolucion del FSE desde su creacion, y su capacidad para adaptarse tanto a las nuevas estrategias de politica regional como a la coyuntura economica. Prestando una atencion especial al caso particular de Espana, el trabajo tambien incluye una mencion a la evidencia empirica existente sobre la eficacia de las Politicas Activas de Empleo. EnglishThe European Social Fund (ESF) is the fiscal tool used by the European Union to undertake labor market policies. It is devoted mainly to the promotion of Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) in regions in which the performance of the labor market is relatively poor. This paper analyzes the evolution of the ESF since its creation, and its capacity of adaptation to renewed strategies and a changing scenario. With a particular attention to the case of Spain, the paper also reviews the empirical literature, in the search of scientific evidence about the capacity of ALMPs to raise employment