Pinheiro, Flávio Luís PortasParrinha, Cátia Sofia Pereira2025-02-182025-02-182025-02-13http://hdl.handle.net/10362/179235Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Data ScienceWhile numerous studies have explored whether cohesion funds effectively achieve their primary goal of promoting regional convergence, this study aims to add a new perspective by analyzing the impact of European Union (EU) cohesion funds on the economic trajectories of regions with different complexity levels, focusing on regional and activity complexity. This approach is built on Hausmann and Hidalgo's theories, highlighting the importance of economic complexity and activity relatedness networks in shaping regional development. As regions evolve, their economies diversify into more complex activities related to capabilities and knowledge. It is interesting to explore the role of cohesion funds in stimulating or hindering this complexity growth, examining whether funds help regions diversify into more sophisticated industries or remain in the same sectors over time. Splitting the regions into three groups, less developed, transition, and more developed, an analysis will be held on the impact of the funds on the region’s diversification, the level of activity complexity the funds invest in, how it influences new entries and exits, and the impact on economic growth. Finally, two case studies of success and unsuccess for each group of regions will help to give more insight into the path of the drive to success or unsuccess. By analyzing the complexity of regions and industries alongside relatedness metrics and introducing two new measures for regional and activity funding capture ability, the study aspires to clarify how regions develop and evolve. It explores the pathways through which regions might diversify into highercomplexity industries and assesses how cohesion funds influence these development trajectories. The findings will add knowledge of regional economic development and offer practical insights into how public investments can enable sustainable growth and diversification across Europe's diverse regions. This study draws on a dataset of 231 NUTS-2 regions across the 27 EU countries over ten years, using industrial data to assess the complexity of regional economic activities. The practical implications of this research are important, as they can guide policymakers in making decisions about regional development and economic policy.engEconomic ComplexityProduct SpaceInnovation EconomicsEconomic GrowthEconomic DevelopmentPublic InvestmentEuropean Fundsmaster thesis203921534