Measuring Regional Specialisation

This book explores statistical models in regional specialization, presenting a brand new measure. It begins by reviewing existing indicators and models of regional specialization before outlining a newly created, spatially embedded model of specialization based on the spatial distribution of firms. It addresses the various applications of the model, and how the model can be used in regional policy.

Edited by three European editors and spanning across Europe, this excellent study focuses on the effects of the European integration process on the inter-regional division of labour in both western and Eastern European countries.Using extensive empirical analysis of the changes of regional specialization over a period of two decades, observing its

This ground-breaking Handbook presents a state-of-the-art exploration of entropy, complexity and spatial dynamics from fundamental theoretical, empirical and methodological perspectives. It considers how foundational theories can contribute to new advances, including novel modeling and empirical insights at different sectoral, spatial and temporal scales.

The OECD report Urban-Rural Linkages in Poland analyses the potential of urban and rural territories for development and improved well-being. Urban and rural areas have different yet often complementary assets, and their better integration is important for socio-economic and environmental performance.

Smart specialisation is the new policy approach to the development of regional innovation systems across Europe and it involves fostering innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives which are well tailored to the local context. The different technologies, skills profiles, business activities, institutions and sectors which reflect a region’s economic strengths and potential are to be fostered and encouraged to diversify in ways which also exploit the region’s linkages with broader global value-chains. Yet, the ideas contained in the smart specialisation agenda have until now been primarily conceptual in nature. The Empirical and Institutional Dimensions of Smart Specialisation draws together some of the leading regional economists and scientists in Europe to analyse how smart specialisation is working in practice. This book investigates different dimensions of the agenda as it is developing across parts of Europe from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The quantitative analysis examines the nature of the diversification processes undertaken by regions and the interplay between the chosen local regional development priorities and the wider global value-chain impacts of these choices. Meanwhile, the qualitative analysis examines the institutional opportunities and challenges facing policy makers and the key elements most likely to provide the underpinnings of a workable set of policy settings. The book is aimed both at academic researchers interested in the interface between economic geography and regional innovation systems as well as at policy makers making public policy decisions related to regional development at the local, city, regional or national levels.

The existence and persistence of regional disparities between European regions require context-tailored policies to promote structural change. This book explores the congruence between place-based development and regional competitiveness in the EU context. Drawing on a range of social science disciplines, this book unpicks the complexity of regional transformation processes, aiming to enhance the applicability and transferability of theoretical approaches to innovation and place-based regional development in diverse European territorial settings. The contributors have a particular focus on less-favoured regions and on the application of Smart Specialisation – a strategic approach to innovation-based regional development – to the issues at hand. The book comes at a critical moment, meeting the growing demand of academics, practitioners and policymakers with an interest in promoting regional economic growth and well-being.

This book constitutes the revised and extended papers of the First International Conference on Innovations in Digital Economy, SPBU IDE 2019, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in October 2019. The 8 papers presented were thoroughly reviewed and selected for publication from 78 submissions. The papers are organized according the following topical sections: economic efficiency and social consequences of digital innovations implementation; industrial, service and agricultural digitalization; regional innovation systems and clusters as drivers of the economic growth during the Fourth Industrial Revolution; response of an educational system and labor market to the digital-driven changes in the economic system.

Place-based innovation policy design requires an in-depth understanding of territories and their complexity. Traditional statistics, with a lack of publicly available data at the disaggregated (sub-sectoral and regional) level, often do not provide adequate information. Therefore, new methods and approaches are required so that scientists and experts that can inform decision-makers and stakeholders in choosing priorities and directions for their innovation strategies. The book replies to such a need by offering advanced mapping methodologies for innovation policies with a special focus on approaches that take into account place-based policies.