Territorial context in the research on the EU cohesion. One-speed or multi-speed Europe?

Every European Union enlargement has deepened economical divergence between member states and their regions. However, the economic aspect of this issue is only a part of a broad scope of reasons of its internal diversity, including also social, cultural or cognitive dimensions. The history of so called “Lisbon process†and failing in achieving Lisbon aims is one of most clear examples of failures of realization one common strategy for all EU member states. Different rates of economic growth or different level of innovativeness or human capital development has made every attempt to measure and execute this processes with one “best-fit†method virtually impossible. Difficulties in measuring EU convergence, which have economic, social, territorial and other aspects are connected not only in problems emerging from the formal issues but also, or primarily, in differences between incremental processes inside EU. EU regions are repeatedly finding “different routes to the same destinationâ€. It does not mean, however there are better or worse routes, since every one emerges from different spring. In these context, regional science can derive from intellectual heritage of institutionalism, which assumes, inter alia, that historical path of development implies the way economic actors act to achieve their objectives. In a broader context, institutional environment (often shaped in the conditions of spatial proximity), not only constitutes the framework but also can be a source of new ideas and thus – it can contribute to regional competitiveness. Bearing this in mind, one must state that what can really decide about the value of the European Union, it is a variability of institutional contexts of regional development. This thesis can successfully refer to research programs aiming at measuring EU member states’ and regions’ development conditions and achievements. In other words, research program on regional development should be adapted to the specificities of the member countries and regions. The aim of this paper is to verify (referring to the institutional economics framework), to what extent the demand for capturing diversity by research methods in regional science can be reconciled with methodological regime and the need to ensure comparability of results.

Regional Economic Transformation: The role of clusters in specialised diversification

Regarding context conditions and the role of territories on competitiveness and innovation, clusters have become progressively a spreading phenomenon all around the world. Recently, the importance of clusters has been mixed with the concept of smart specialization, a territorial development model that seeks to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of economic systems with the aim of contributing to sustainable development. This new model has been strongly incorporated within the new Regional Policy logic defined by the European Commission for the period 2014-2020, in the shape of the upcoming Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies ?RIS3. The aim of this article is to analyse the concept of both cluster and smart specialization form a twofold perspective: the economic development theoretical approach and the policy perspective. In other words, the implications of new RIS3 strategies regarding clusters, and vice versa, as well as their role as policy instruments. To do so, the first chapter introduces briefly the traditional cluster approach, differentiating the development model behind it, as well as the cluster policy dimension that has led to the explosion of cluster initiatives around the world. The second chapter introduces the relationship between the clusters and the new smart specialization development model as two perspectives that mutually reinforce and share common elements that contribute one to another. The third chapter analyses deeply the potential involvement of cluster initiatives and cluster policies within the upcoming smart specialisation strategies that are being fostered by the European Commission for the new programming period 2014-2020. The fourth chapter analyses all these elements regarding clusters and smart specialisation into the Basque Country case, a region with a cluster policy since the 90s and where a reflection must be done regarding the upcoming RIS3. According to the results obtained Basque clusters seem to be drivers for higher productivity and exports, being interesting to consider them as catalysts for contributing to smart specialization principles higher degrees of specialization and open economy. In addition to these, they also could be the key for the third theme in a RIS3 focused on specialised diversification through related variety exploitation and entrepreneurial discoveries. Finally, from the results from the Basque case, a fifth chapter adds a number of generalised recommendations about how to reformulate cluster policies regarding smart specialisation model and the likely role of cluster initiatives within the new governance system that regions probably develop under smart specialisation strategies

Research and action agenda for a national broadband initiative in India

Broadband has found to have substantial impact on the economic growth of various nations. Recognizing the positive impact of broadband, several countries have gone ahead with their respective broadband plans, which, at times, include requisite fiscal stimulus. In this paper we have tried to look into several of these international examples and have tried to put forth the challenges and opportunities that exist in a fast developing country like India. Based on these experiences, observations and analysis, this paper tries to bring forth recommendations towards a National Broadband Policy for India and suggests the objectives and structure of the same - thus setting a research and policy agenda for the nation. The findings of this paper may also provide necessary inputs to policy makers of such developing nations to formulate a similar broadband policy and management organization for them. --

The 2007-13 operational programmes: a preliminary assessment: Spring – Autumn 2005

A preliminary assessment of the 2007-13 operational programmes on EU cohesion policy

The countryside in urbanized Flanders: towards a flexible definition for a dynamic policy

The countryside, the rural area, the open space, … many definitions are used for rural Flanders. Everyone makes its own interpretation of the countryside, considering it as a place for living, working or recreating. The countryside is more than just a geographical area: it is an aggregate of physical, social, economic and cultural functions, strongly interrelated with each other. According to international and European definitions of rural areas there would be almost no rural area in Flanders. These international definitions are all developed to be used for analysis and policy within their specific context. They are not really applicable to Flanders because of the historical specificity of its spatial structure. Flanders is characterized by a giant urbanization pressure on its countryside while internationally rural depopulation is a point of interest. To date, for every single rural policy initiative – like the implementation of the European Rural Development Policy – Flanders used a specifically adapted definition, based on existing data or previously made delineations. To overcome this oversupply of definitions and delineations, the Flemish government funded a research project to obtain a clear and flexible definition of the Flemish countryside and a dynamic method to support Flemish rural policy aims. First, an analysis of the currently used definitions of the countryside in Flanders was made. It is clear that, depending on the perspective or the policy context, another definition of the countryside comes into view. The comparative study showed that, according to the used criteria, the area percentage of Flanders that is rural, varies between 9 and 93 per cent. Second, dynamic sets of criteria were developed, facilitating a flexible definition of the countryside, according to the policy aims concerned. This research part was focused on 6 policy themes, like ‘construction, maintenance and management of local (transport) infrastructures’ and ‘provision of (minimum) services (education, culture, health care, …)’. For each theme a dynamic set of criteria or indicators was constructed. These indicators make it possible to show where a policy theme manifests itself and/or where policy interventions are possible or needed. In this way every set of criteria makes up a new definition of rural Flanders. This method is dynamic; new data or insights can easily be incorporated and new criteria sets can be developed if other policy aims come into view. The developed method can contribute to a more region-oriented and theme-specific rural policy and funding mechanism

Geo-located Twitter as the proxy for global mobility patterns

In the advent of a pervasive presence of location sharing services researchers gained an unprecedented access to the direct records of human activity in space and time. This paper analyses geo-located Twitter messages in order to uncover global patterns of human mobility. Based on a dataset of almost a billion tweets recorded in 2012 we estimate volumes of international travelers in respect to their country of residence. We examine mobility profiles of different nations looking at the characteristics such as mobility rate, radius of gyration, diversity of destinations and a balance of the inflows and outflows. The temporal patterns disclose the universal seasons of increased international mobility and the peculiar national nature of overseen travels. Our analysis of the community structure of the Twitter mobility network, obtained with the iterative network partitioning, reveals spatially cohesive regions that follow the regional division of the world. Finally, we validate our result with the global tourism statistics and mobility models provided by other authors, and argue that Twitter is a viable source to understand and quantify global mobility patterns.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figure

Collective efficiency strategies: a policy instrument solution to boost competitiveness in low-density territories

This paper motivates the focus of EU cohesion policy at large and the territorial cooperation tools on the economic development of territories featuring impoverishing growth associated to low population density. An innovative policy approach to help solving this problem in many Member States is put forward here. It is based on the economic concept of "collective efficiency". It should be understood as a proposal to improve EU cohesion policy in the next programming period. As such, the paper suggests actual ideas to be included in the forthcoming Common Strategic Framework and Development and Investment Partnership Contracts

Territorial servitization and the manufacturing renaissance in knowledge-based economies

The analysis of how the development of knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) sectors in certain territories contributes to rebuild the competitive advantage of manufacturing businesses—a process described as territorial servitization—has increasingly drawn scholarly and policy attention. The collection of nine papers in this special issue brings new insights into how institutional and spatial as well as socio-economic and industry-specific attributes underpin the development of territorial servitization. By adopting a multidisciplinary perspective that combines a variety of frameworks (organizational, place-based, economic geography), the mechanics and the relationships underlying territorial servitization as well as its territorial economic repercussions are developed. This editorial note first portrays territorial servitization as a local hybrid value chain and argues that effective territorial servitization requires a value adding fit between manufacturers and KIBS. Also, we provide a number of yet unresolved topics that deserve academic attention.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft