Abstract: This paper analyses the regional impacts of direct payments on the labour and land productivity of European farms. The basic assumption of the research is that direct CAP subsidies have a positive effect on productivity and efficiency. This was tested by quantitative regression-analysis models, which were based on NUTS2-level regional data from 2008-2018. The results show that direct subsidies have a negative effect on labour and productivity in agriculture, a finding that can be attributed to a number of underlying factors. The direction and magnitude of these productivity effects differ markedly between old and new Member States.