Competitiveness, innovation and regional development. The case of the Visegrad Group countries

Anna Golejewska ()

No 1203, Working Papers of Economics of European Integration Division from The Univeristy of Gdansk, Faculty of Economics, Economics of European Integration Division

Abstract: The paper relates to factors determining regional competitiveness in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - the Visegrad Group. The study starts from a comprehensive survey of the literature on regional competitiveness and the potential effects of innovation. The theoretical section is supplemented by empirical one. The aim of the empirical analysis is to investigate the regional diversity of innovativeness and competitiveness in the group of 35 regions (NUTS 2 level) over the period 2001-2008. It is based on one data source: Eurostat Regional Statistics. I applied two classical methods of cluster analysis. The results of non-hierarchical k-means clustering algorithm were compared with the results of hierarchical Ward’s method. The results for the Visegrad Group show faster development of capital regions and diversity of regional competitiveness and innovativeness. According to the results, one can suppose that innovative inputs were transformed in innovative outputs and that innovations had a positive and growing impact on regional competitiveness in the Visegrad Group, however further research is still needed. The major conclusion of the cluster analysis is that the development of regions in the Visegrad Group depends on their nationality – regions cluster within borders. Analysing the results, one should not forget that they are based on selected variables, which are a resultant of –in some measure- random choice and data accessibility.

Keywords: regional competitiveness; regional growth; innovation; cluster analysis; Central and Eastern European Countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C38 P25 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2012-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ino, nep-knm, nep-tra and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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http://gnu.univ.gda.pl/~keie/aio27.pdf First version, 2012

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