The impact of socio-economic inputs on rtd, innovativeness, and competitiveness of european and east asian smes: comparative analysis and policy suggestions for regional convergence

This paper presents state-of-the-art conceptual and empirical output of recent research work on the identification of the factors that determine the innovativeness and competitiveness of SMEs in Europe and East Asian countries. In the context of globalisation, new technology and learning-based production, and in the direction of the European regional convergence and social cohesion, our research obtained insights of the links between economic performance and socio-technological inputs. More specifically, on the basis of cross-national and cross-industry comparisons, the ways that regional/national innovation systems influence firm performance and growth are analysed.innovativeness and competitiveness, SMEs, learning-based production, innovation systems

Digital Infrastructure: Overcoming the digital divide in China and the European Union. CEPS Research Report, November 2017

This study is the result of collaboration among a group of researchers from CEPS and Zhejiang University (ZJU), who decided to team up and analyse the experience of China and the EU in bridging the digital divide. While acknowledging that both China and Europe have undertaken major efforts to reduce socio-economic and geographical disparities by providing network access to ever more citizens, the authors found that investing in physical access alone is not sufficient to enhance inclusion in the information society. They argue that public authorities should also adopt corollary policies to spur social and economic cohesion through innovations that enable disadvantaged regions to catch up with more developed urban areas. In this context, the report calls upon governments to promote digital innovation and entrepreneurship, foster coordinated efforts and adapt their educational systems to the changing labour market

The Future of EU Cohesion Policy. Endogenous Development – Added Value of Intervention – Regulatory Frameworks

The successful operation of the regional development – or cohesion – policy of the European Union has a strategic importance from the point of view of the whole integration process. Strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion and decreasing disparities between member states and regions are not only one of the main priorities of the integration, but at the same time these are justified expectations of the people living in the member states of the union. The cohesion transfers should be spent on those factors which have the biggest contribution to the improvement of development prospects and competitiveness in the given regions. Theories on regional development have controversial conclusions about the long-term formation of development disparities. However, it has become evident that successful development policies are based on endogenous factors, innovation and well-functioning institutions. After examining theoretical considerations and regional disparities the study analyses the impacts of EU regional policy and evaluates the main elements of the proposed regulatory frameworks for the period 2014-2020

Reconsidering Cohesion Policy : the Contested debate on Territorial Cohesion

The incorporation of territorial cohesion as a regional policy objective has focused attention on the potential role of territorial cooperation in pursuing this goal. However, the broad agreement on the positive effects of territorial cooperation is not always matched by the same enthusiasm when funds are being allocated. The concrete impact of territorial cooperation is often difficult to identify. At the same time, in terms of the qualitative impacts of territorial cooperation, the added value of INTERREG for territorial cohesion is difficult to dispute

Explaining the EU's Policy Portfolio: Applying a Federal Integration Approach to EU Cohesion Policy. Bruges Political Research Paper No. 20, December 2011

This paper engages with the debate about why the nature of the EU's policy portfolio is as it is. It does so by taking cohesion policy and asking the question, why has it come to occupy so important a position in the EU‟s policy portfolio? It is argued that the two most common conceptually-based approaches applied to cohesion policy – intergovernmentalism and multilevel governance – do not adequately explain either the timing or the dynamic of cohesion policy. A model that combines economic integration approaches and federal approaches is developed in the paper to provide a basis for a new explanatory framework for the prominent position of cohesion in the portfolio. We suggest that our approach – which we call a federal integration approach – has the potential to be applied to other policy areas

Renewing cohesion policy: recent progress and long-term challenges : Paper prepared for the 28th meeting of the EoRPA Regional Policy Research Consortium at Ross Priory, Loch Lomondside on 7-9 October 2006

Reviews the reform of cohesion policy in the last five years

Smart Specialisation – Towards a New Generation of Regional Innovation Strategies

Inteligentna specjalizacja stała się jednym z zasadniczych wątków współczesnych koncepcji zarządzania rozwojem regionalnym. W oryginale oznacza sztywny podział ról między regiony–liderzy innowacji i pozostałe regiony. Te pierwsze specjalizują się w tzw. technologiach ogólnego zastosowania i/lub ich kombinacji (np. bioinformatyce), drugie zaś w tzw. „koinwencji zastosowań”, czyli w imporcie technologii ogólnego zastosowania i wdrażaniu ich w jednym lub kilku obszarach regionalnej gospodarki. Tego typu koncepcja niesie ze sobą pewne niebezpieczeństwo, bo – jak wynika z doświadczeń międzynarodowych: 1) wysoki poziom innowacyjności wymaga wyrównanego poziomu konkurencyjności kompetencyjnej i technologicznej; 2) szybkość konwergencji konkurencyjności kompetencyjnej jest wyższa niż szybkość konwergencji konkurencyjności technologicznej, czemu również sprzyja dotychczasowy charakter międzynarodowego transferu technologii między liderami innowacji i pozostałymi regionami, ograniczający się (najczęściej) do technologii mniej lub bardziej przestarzałych. Stąd adaptacja koncepcji inteligentnej specjalizacji wymaga od każdego z regionów podwójnego wysiłku: a) znalezienia takich nisz technologicznych, w których mogą osiągnąć rolę lidera innowacji, i tym samym specjalizować się w rozwijaniu technologii ogólnego zastosowania; b) znalezienia takich sektorów / grup pokrewnych sektorów, gdzie mogą się specjalizować we wdrażaniu technologii rozwijanych przez innych liderów innowacji. Procedura określania takich obszarów inteligentnej specjalizacji uwzględnia przewagi konkurencyjne województwa, jego podstawowe zasoby (konkurencyjność technologiczną i konkurencyjność kompetencyjną) i potrzeby modernizacyjne jego bazy społeczno-ekonomicznej oraz globalne uwarunkowania

EU Cohesion Policy: A suitable tool to foster regional innovation? Bertelsmann Policy Paper, 2019

Across Europe, regions are divided into innovation leaders and moderate innovators – the latter referring to regions that lag behind in terms of prosperity and R&D activities. This innovation gap in turn threatens to reinforce the productivity gap between regions. The EU’s Cohesion Policy recently shifted its focus towards funding innovation to deal with these disparities. Is this strategy working