Reiner Martin, born 1966 in Konstanz, Germany, is an economist with the German Federal Economics Ministry. He holds an MSc in domestic politics and foreign policy from the University of Bristol, an MA in international economics from the University of Sussex and a PhD from the Universität der Bundeswehr in Hamburg. Before joining the Economics Ministry he was Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels, and Researcher at the HWWA-Institute for Economic Research, Hamburg.

• List of Tables List of Figures List of Boxes Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction PART I: REGIONAL CONVERGENCE OR DIVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION? European Economic Integration and the Growth of Regional Heterogeneity Economic Theory and the Convergence versus Divergence Debate Regional Convergence within the EU: An Empirical Analysis PART II: EUROPEAN REGIONAL POLICY AND THE PROBLEM OF POLICY CO-ORDINATION The Regional Policy of the European Union National and European Regional Policy: An Uneasy Relationship Human Capital Investments - R&D Policy and Cohesion Transport Infrastructure Policies Conclusions and Policy Recommendations Appendix References Index