IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rfe/zbefri/v32y2014i2p255-283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional competitiveness, economic growth and stages of development

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Huggins

    (Cardiff University, School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff, UK)

  • Hiro Izushi

    (Aston University, Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK)

  • Daniel Prokop

    (Cardiff University, School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff, UK)

  • Piers Thompson

    (Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham, UK.)

Abstract

This paper positions the concept of regional competitiveness within theories concerning regional economic growth and stages of economic development. It examines the sources of regional competitiveness encompassing an analysis based on the particular stage of economic development that the nations within which regions are situated have reached. As a means to achieve this, the paper undertakes an empirical analysis of data stemming from the World Competitiveness Index of Regions, and identifies regional competitiveness as a dual concept that explains relative differences in rates of economic development across regions, as well as an understanding of the future economic growth trajectories of regions at a similar stage of economic development. As with endogenous growth and development theory, the notion of regional competitiveness presented here places knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship at the forefront of conceptualisations of regional economic differentiation.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Huggins & Hiro Izushi & Daniel Prokop & Piers Thompson, 2014. "Regional competitiveness, economic growth and stages of development," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 32(2), pages 255-283.
    • Handle: RePEc:rfe:zbefri:v:32:y:2014:i:2:p:255-283
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.efri.uniri.hr/sites/efri.uniri.hr/files/cr-collections/2/10-huggins-izushi-prokop-thompson-2014-2-1420787458.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Unknown, 1962. "Economic Development And Aid," Increasing Understanding of Public Problems and Policies:1962 17983, Farm Foundation.
    2. Javier Revilla DIEZ, 2002. "Metropolitan Innovation Systems: A Comparison between Barcelona, Stockholm, and Vienna," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 25(1), pages 63-85, January.
    3. Christoph Hauser & Gottfried Tappeiner & Janette Walde, 2007. "The Learning Region: The Impact of Social Capital and Weak Ties on Innovation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(1), pages 75-88.
    4. Sam Youl Lee & Richard Florida & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "Creativity and Entrepreneurship: A Regional Analysis of New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 13, pages 171-182, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Roberto Camagni & Roberta Capello, 2013. "Regional Competitiveness and Territorial Capital: A Conceptual Approach and Empirical Evidence from the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(9), pages 1383-1402, October.
    6. Martin Andersson & Charlie Karlsson, 2007. "Knowledge in Regional Economic Growth—The Role of Knowledge Accessibility," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 129-149.
    7. Edward Malecki, 2004. "Jockeying for Position: What It Means and Why It Matters to Regional Development Policy When Places Compete," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(9), pages 1101-1120.
    8. Gillian Bristow, 2005. "Everyone's a 'winner': problematising the discourse of regional competitiveness," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 285-304, June.
    9. T. W. Swan, 1956. "ECONOMIC GROWTH and CAPITAL ACCUMULATION," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 334-361, November.
    10. Mark Setterfield (ed.), 2010. "Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12814.
    11. Paul Benneworth & David Charles, 2005. "University spin-off policies and economic development in Less successful regions: Learning from two decades of policy practice," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 537-557, June.
    12. Beugelsdijk,Sjoerd & Maseland,Robbert, 2014. "Culture in Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107684614, January.
    13. Ash Amin, 1999. "An Institutionalist Perspective on Regional Economic Development," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 365-378, June.
    14. Ron A. Boschma & Koen Frenken, 2006. "Why is economic geography not an evolutionary science? Towards an evolutionary economic geography," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 273-302, June.
    15. David Audretsch & Max Keilbach, 2004. "Entrepreneurship and regional growth: an evolutionary interpretation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 605-616, December.
    16. Fischer, M.M. & Nijkamp, P., 2009. "Entrepreneurship and Regional Development," Serie Research Memoranda 0035, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    17. Cristiano Antonelli & Pier Paolo Patrucco & Francesco Quatraro, 2011. "Productivity Growth and Pecuniary Knowledge Externalities: An Empirical Analysis of Agglomeration Economies in European Regions," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 87(1), pages 23-50, January.
    18. Roberto Camagni, 2002. "On the Concept of Territorial Competitiveness: Sound or Misleading?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(13), pages 2395-2411, December.
    19. Mark Roberts & Mark Setterfield, 2010. "Endogenous Regional Growth: A Critical Survey," Chapters, in: Mark Setterfield (ed.), Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Growth, chapter 21, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Karl Aiginger, 2006. "Competitiveness: From a Dangerous Obsession to a Welfare Creating Ability with Positive Externalities," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 161-177, June.
    21. Philip Cooke & Bjørn Asheim & Ron Boschma & Ron Martin & Dafna Schwartz & Franz Tödtling (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of Regional Innovation and Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13482.
    22. Oliver Ibert, 2007. "Towards a Geography of Knowledge Creation: The Ambivalences between 'Knowledge as an Object' and 'Knowing in Practice'," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(1), pages 103-114.
    23. David North & David Smallbone, 2000. "Innovative Activity in SMEs and Rural Economic Development: Some Evidence from England," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 87-106, February.
    24. Roberta Capello, 1999. "Spatial Transfer of Knowledge in High Technology Milieux: Learning Versus Collective Learning Processes," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 353-365.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Valentina Diana Rusu & Adina Dornean, 2019. "The Quality of Entrepreneurial Activity and Economic Competitiveness in European Union Countries: A Panel Data Approach," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, April.
    2. José Manuel López‐Fernández & Mariluz Maté‐Sánchez‐Val & Francisco Manuel Somohano‐Rodriguez, 2021. "The effect of micro‐territorial networks on industrial small and medium enterprises' innovation: A case study in the Spanish region of Cantabria," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(1), pages 51-77, February.
    3. Miloš Krstić & José António Filipe & José Chavaglia, 2020. "Higher Education as a Determinant of the Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of an Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Bence Zuti, 2018. "Mobility and Regional Competitiveness in the Digital Age," Proceedings of the 8th International RAIS Conference, March 26-27, 2018 006, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies.
    5. Mohsen Mohammadi Khyareh & Nasrin Rostami, 2022. "Macroeconomic Conditions, Innovation and Competitiveness," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1321-1340, June.
    6. Svetlana V. Orekhova & Yevgeny V. Kislitsyn, 2018. "Power Asymmetry and Economic Growth of Industrial Markets: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 121-135, August.
    7. Irina S. Zinovyeva & Yuri А. Kozenko & Kirill B. Gerasimov & Yulia I. Dubova & Margarita S. Irizepova, 2016. "Regional Innovation Development as a Feature of Competitiveness in the XXI Century," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 10(4), December.
    8. Shahrazad HADAD, 2017. "Knowledge Economy: Characteristics and Dimensions," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 5(2), pages 203-225, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert Huggins & Piers Thompson, 2015. "Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth: a network theory," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 103-128, June.
    2. Robert Huggins & Piers Thompson, 2017. "Networks and regional economic growth: A spatial analysis of knowledge ties," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(6), pages 1247-1265, June.
    3. Manuela Natário & Ascensao Braga & Goncalo Poeta Fernades, 2015. "El emprendimiento en Regiones Fronterizas: Estudio de cuatro municipios de la BIN," Revista de Estudios Regionales, Universidades Públicas de Andalucía, vol. 3, pages 83-109.
    4. Robert Huggins & Andrew Johnston, 2009. "Knowledge Networks in an Uncompetitive Region: SME Innovation and Growth," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 227-259, June.
    5. Peter Mayerhofer, 2022. "Vorarlbergs Wirtschaft im europäischen Konkurrenzumfeld. Bericht zur internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit 2022," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69424, April.
    6. Imre Lengyel, 2011. "Types of competitiveness of Hungarian regions: agglomeration economies and endogenous regional development," ERSA conference papers ersa11p674, European Regional Science Association.
    7. Susan Christopherson & Jennifer Clark, 2010. "Limits to ‘The Learning Region’: What University-centered Economic Development Can (and Cannot) do to Create Knowledge-based Regional Economies," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 25(2), pages 120-130, March.
    8. H.S. Geyer, 2011. "Creativity, Wellbeing and Urban Sustainability: Areas in Which the North and the South Can Learn from Each Other," Chapters, in: H. S. Geyer (ed.), International Handbook of Urban Policy, Volume 3, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Karl Aiginger & Matthias Firgo, 2015. "Regional Competitiveness Under New Perspectives. WWWforEurope Policy Paper No. 26," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58501, April.
    10. Sabine D'Costa & Enrique Garcilazo & Joaquim Oliveira Martins, 2012. "The effects of nation-wide policies on regional growth," ERSA conference papers ersa12p745, European Regional Science Association.
    11. João Lopes & Mário Franco, 2019. "Review About Regional Development Networks: an Ecosystem Model Proposal," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(1), pages 275-297, March.
    12. Sabine D'Costa & Enrique Garcilazo & Joaquim Oliveira Martins, 2016. "Impact of Structural Reforms on Regional Growth: Distance to the Frontier Matters," SERC Discussion Papers 0203, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Michele Sabatino & Giuseppina Talamo, 2017. "Innovation and Competitiveness of European Regions," Research in Applied Economics, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(3), pages 45-69, September.
    14. Martijn J. Burger & Bert van der Knaap & Ronald S. Wall, 2013. "Revealed competition for greenfield investments between European regions," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 619-648, July.
    15. Peter Mayerhofer & Matthias Firgo & Stefan Schönfelder, 2015. "Vierter Bericht zur internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Wiens," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60625, April.
    16. Mas-Verdú, Francisco & Ortiz-Miranda, Dionisio & García-Álvarez-Coque, José María, 2016. "Examining organizational innovations in different regional settings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5324-5329.
    17. H. S. Geyer (ed.), 2011. "International Handbook of Urban Policy, Volume 3," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12831.
    18. KAPITSINIS, Nikolaos & METAXAS, Theodore & DUQUENNE, Marie Noelle, 2013. "Exploring The Coherence And The Meaning Of Territorial Competition: Do National States Behave In The Same Way As Firms In Case Of Default?. The Cases Of Greece And Dubai," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 13(2), pages 57-72.
    19. David L. Barkley & Rebekka M. Dudensing, 2011. "Industrial Legacy Matters: Implications for the Development and Use of Indices of Regional Competitiveness," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(2), pages 130-142, May.
    20. Cristina Chaminade & Monica Plechero, 2015. "Do Regions Make a Difference? Regional Innovation Systems and Global Innovation Networks in the ICT Industry," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 215-237, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    regional competitiveness; economic growth; stages of development; innovation; knowledge;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rfe:zbefri:v:32:y:2014:i:2:p:255-283. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Danijela Ujcic (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/efrijhr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.