The potential of Google Trend in estimating the absorption rate of European structural funds

This study investigates the relationship between Google Trends (GT) interest in European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the absorption rate across 27 European Union countries. Utilizing a two-way fixed effect methodology, we analyse annual GT data from 2007 to 2016. Results reveal a consistently positive and statistically significant explicative power of lagged values of GT interest on absorption rates. The findings suggest that the online search behaviour regarding ESIF correlates with fund absorption, revealing the potential predictive value of GT data in the context of regional cohesion policies. This study contributes to the literature on the practical applications of GT across diverse domains and underscores its relevance in predicting the implementation of EU cohesion policies.