The European Investment Bank and Its Role in Fostering European Cohesiveness: The Case of Ireland and of the Italian Southern Regions.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was the first IFI (International Financial Institution) created with the purpose of promoting regional economic integration rather than simply alleviating capital constraints and promoting development, as it was the case for previously established IFIs like the World Bank. However, it remains a neglected EU institution. More research needs to be conducted on EIB, including the determinants of EIB lending from a market perspective and the impact of EIB loans nationally and regionally. This work aims at filling this gap by analysing the case of Italy and, in particular, of Southern Italy from 1958 to 1972 (an important period for Italy) and of Ireland from 1973 to 2019 (because, together with the United Kingdom, Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973, thus benefiting from the influx of Community subsidies, which have proven to be one of the most important factors in the country’s economic growth) to determine the impact of EIB loans nationally and regionally. Why Italy and Ireland? The two case studies are interesting because the two countries have several historical similarities from an economic and social point of view. Centuries of foreign government have weakened natural energies with political and fiscal oppression.4 Historically migration played an important role and improved the conditions of those who left, as well as of those who remained. Both areas were mainly agricultural before WWII, and public intervention was key for industrialization and development. Both areas were the object of the development policy of the European Economic Community and of the European Investment Bank as reflected in this work.