TOWARDS A LIFE LONG LEARNING AND A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

The program Learning for Community Action in the Sector of for Life Learningwas for life enacted with the Decision of European Parliament and Council with fundamentalobjective to contribute in the growth of Community as a advanced society of knowledge, withsustainable economic growth, more and better places of work and bigger social cohesion,ensuring also the social and economic growth and the protection of environment for thefuture generations. More special objectives are the modernisation and the adaptation ofsystems of education and training of member states particularly in the line of strategicobjectives of Lisbon. The particular article aims to analyze the subjects of education and lifelong learning in E.U. in the context of knowledge and learning society.Life Long Learning, Education, Training, Knowledge, Socio-Economic Development.

Economics of innovation : a review in theory and models

Innovation activities contribute essentially to the regional dimension and growth. The technological infrastructure and innovation capabilities affect not only the regional growth, but also the whole periphery and economy as well. There are a lot of problems and questions regarding the measurement of innovation activities at a regional level. This paper attempts to analyze the whole framework of innovation statistics and in particular to examine the measurement and also the statistical estimation of innovation activities. On this context, it’s also aiming to emphasize and to review the appropriate techniques, the most common methods and the particular problems.peer-reviewe

The Role of Innovation Activities in Tourism and Regional Growth in Europe

Tourism plays a crucial role for national economies throughout the world. In Europe, international tourism receipts were almost three times higher in the late 1990s than they were in the late 1980s. Tourism has great potential as regards contributing to the achievements of several major EU objectives, such as economic growth, employment, sustainable development and economic and social cohesion. The importance of innovation was long underestimated in service and tourism activities. Successful innovation, as for instance innovation that is also profitable to the tourism firm in a competitive market, must increase the value of the whole tourism product. The production and the dissemination of new technologies has been the subject of much research. This paper illustrates why technological innovation is considered as a major force in tourism industry. It also attempts to analyze the impact of technological innovation and the implications on regional growth of member states

The Role of Innovation Activities in Tourism and Regional Growth in Europe

Tourism plays a crucial role for national economies throughout the world. In Europe, international tourism receipts were almost three times higher in the late 1990s than they were in the late 1980s. Tourism has great potential as regards contributing to the achievements of several major EU objectives, such as economic growth, employment, sustainable development and economic and social cohesion. The importance of innovation was long underestimated in service and tourism activities. Successful innovation, as for instance innovation that is also profitable to the tourism firm in a competitive market, must increase the value of the whole tourism product. The production and the dissemination of new technologies has been the subject of much research. This paper illustrates why technological innovation is considered as a major force in tourism industry. It also attempts to analyze the impact of technological innovation and the implications on regional growth of member states

Internal and External Sources of Regional Growth

AbstractThis paper examines the pattern of regional growth due to their ability to adopt technology. Whether regions exhibit a ‘high’ or ‘low’ path of growth depends on the adoption of technological improvements. Technology adoption can be either ‘internal’ or ‘external’ to the region. This approach is tested empirically using data for 247 European regions. The results suggest that adoption of technology has a significant and positive effect in regional growth in Europe

ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY AND REGIONAL CONVERGENCE IN EUROPE

Abstract: This paper examines the pattern of convergence in labour productivity across regions due to their ability to adopt technology. Whether regions exhibit a pattern of convergence depends on the degree to which infrastructure conditions are appropriate for the adoption of technological improvements. The ability of a region to adopt or create technology is reflected in the percentage of its labour force employed in technologically dynamic sectors or, more generally, in the resources devoted to science and technology. A high percentage of labour employed in technologically advanced sectors leads a region to a pattern of convergence. This hypothesis is tested using data for the NUTS-2 regions of the EU-27 during the time period 1995-2006. The results suggest that adoption of technology has a significant and positive effect on regional convergence in Europe. The analysis is also shown to have important implications for the direction of regional policy in Europe. To be more specific, regional policies, in order to enhance regional growth and convergence, should encourage employment in advanced technological sectors

Genetic origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans

The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more than a century. We assembled genome-wide data from nineteen ancient individuals, including Minoans from Crete, Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, and their eastern neighbours from southwestern Anatolia. We show that Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically similar, having at least three quarters of their ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean1,2, and most of the remainder from ancient populations like those of the Caucasus3 and Iran4,5. However, the Mycenaeans differed from Minoans in deriving additional ancestry from an ultimate source related to the hunter-gatherers of eastern Europe and Siberia6–8, introduced via a proximal source related to either the inhabitants of either the Eurasian steppe1,6,9 or Armenia4,9. Modern Greeks resemble the Mycenaeans, but with some additional dilution of the early Neolithic ancestry. Our results support the idea of continuity but not isolation in the history of populations of the Aegean, before and after the time of its earliest civilizations

Microsoft Word - Paper-Confer-ERSA-2003.doc

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between productivity and technological change. The question that we shall address in this paper, is whether the recent slow down in productivity can be explained by the slow-down of innovation activities. This paper attempts to measure technical change, in order to measure the effects of economic growth for European member states. It introduces the reader, first, to some basic elements and concepts that are central to understanding the approach. The characteristics of the innovation process are examined: its nature, sources and some of the factors shaping its development. Particular emphasis is laid on the role of technical change and dissemination based on the fundamental distinction between codified and tacit forms. These concepts recur throughout the paper and particularly in discussions on the nature and specifications of the systems approach. The paper concludes by summarizing some of the major findings of the discussion and pointing to some directions for future research activities. Keywords Introduction Many studies have suggested that there is a close correlation between technological development and productivity (see for example Abramovitz, 1986; Fagerberg, 1987 Fagerberg, , 1988 Fagerberg, , 1994, and economists have analysed different possible views of why productivity growth has declined. These alternative explanations can be grouped into the following categories: the capital factor, for instance investment may have been insufficient to sustain the level of productivity growth; the technology factor, for instance a decline in innovation might have affected productivity growth; the increased price of raw materials and energy; government regulations and demand policies that affect the productivity level; the skills and experience of the labour force may have deteriorated or workers may not work as hard as they used to; the products and services produced by the economy have become more diverse; and productivity levels differ greatly across industries. This paper attempts to measure the relationship between technology and productivity, or more precisely, to investigate the correlation between technological development and the decline in productivity growth. We shall empirically test the technological and catching-up models using data for the EU member states. Looking for the Growth Issues: Recent Trends on Innovation Activities and Productivity Schmookler Growth accounting tries to explain changes in real product and total factor productivity based mainly on a comparison between the growth of inputs (capital and labour) and the growth of output. One part of actual growth cannot be explained and has been classified as 'unexplained total factor productivity growth' (or the so called residual). In particular, following the decomposition analysis by Solow (1957), many alternative factors can explain the path of economic growth. According to Solow's findings, technology has been responsible for 90 per cent of the increase in labour productivity in the United States in the twentieth century. The unexplained decline in productivity growth can thus be regarded as resulting from a collapse in technological activities. This may have happened because the availability of technological opportunities has been temporarily or permanently reduced. Furthermore, technological gap theories (Abramovitz, 1986; Fagerberg, 1987 Fagerberg, , 1988 Fagerberg, , 1994 relate the technological level and innovation activities to the level of economic growth. According to these theories, countries where more innovation activities take place tend to have a higher level of value added per worker (or a higher per capita GDP). Following the technological-gap argument, it would be expected that the more technologically advanced countries would also be the most economically advanced (in terms of innovation activities and per capita GDP). Technology-intensive industries play an increasingly important role in the international manufacturing trade of OECD countries. In the 1990s, OECD exports of high-and medium-high-technology 3 industries grew at an annual rate of around 7%, and their shares in manufacturing exports reached 25% and 40%, respectively, in 1999. Substantial differences in the shares of high-and medium-high-technology industries in manufacturing exports are found across the OECD area, ranging from ove