The objective of this study is to conduct an analysis of regional development and competitiveness in the EU and Latvia under current conditions of economic globalization. This paper makes an attempt to evaluate a theory of regional development and regional competitiveness concept in relation to regional competitiveness in the light of current global economic changes. The authors emphasise that the regional development is based on competitive advantages, which has been a subject of fundamental research by Michal Porter and that serves as a basis for the current scientific methodology to assess competitiveness of regions and countries. The authors support a view of many scholars to consider regional competitiveness as the capacity of a region (or country) to create and support competitive economic environment. Further research reveals the impact of globalization on regional development by analysing interaction between the Globalization Index (GI) and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). Quantitative and qualitative analysis, i.e. literature analysis, comparative analysis and correlation analysis performed for this study reflect that competitiveness under global economic conditions is determined by the development stage of each regioncompetitiveness of a less developed region is more dependent on production factors, while competitiveness of a higher developed region is based on innovation. The correlation analysis reveals that the impact of globalization is stronger for those EU countries, which are in the efficiency-driven stage of development thank for those, which are in the innovationdriven stage. The results of this research could be useful for economic policy makers to determine the role of institutions, policy * The research leading to these results has received funding from the
The objective of this paper is to examine the role of institutional and policy support for cluster development, and the competitive advantages of regions based on regional labour force concentration. The tool of cluster identification in regional economies - Location Quotient (LQ) - has been applied to measure the concentration of the labour force in the main economic sectors of Latvia and Finland. This comparative analysis has shown that Finland has much stronger regional labour force concentration in certain sectors of the economy, which is not typical for Latvia and reveals that the regional economy of Latvia has much lower potential for cluster development and competitiveness in global markets. The results of this research confirm that governments should support cluster development to achieve sustainable long-term development based on natural growth poles, exploiting the potential of regional comparative advantages such as specific concentration of skills and knowledge (labour force), concentration of industries, natural resources, etc., but not concentrate on short-term priorities in cluster development
This survey is conducted in the framework of the project "Empowering Citizens to Transform Public Administrations (CITADEL)""implemented under the European Union's (EU) research programme "Horizon-2020". By participating in this survey you agree that the researcher of the University of Latvia records and uses information and comments provided by you to enhance understanding on the research issues. The main objective is to clarify:
The purpose of this research is to contribute to the debate on regional competitiveness concept by evaluating genesis of the studies of concept development, and the impact assessment. This paper also presents the impact of clusters on regional competitiveness through the experience of the Latvian Information Technology (IT) cluster. The methods used in the research are literature analysis, correlation and statistical analysis. The main tasks include: (i) the usage of competitiveness concept to describe main factors of regional competitiveness, (ii) identification of the role of clusters for regional competitiveness by testing the linkage between regional competitiveness and state of cluster development, (iii) presenting the experience of the Latvian Information Technology (IT) cluster and the assessment of advantages companies operating in the cluster environment. The novelty of the research is testing the relationship between regional competitiveness and state of cluster development, as well as introducing the assessment of the CEOs of the Latvian IT cluster companies on advantages of cluster environment. In addition, synthesis of the cluster's concept has led to findings on mandatory and desirable features of clusters. The authors conclude that economically more advanced regions have better developed clusters, while regions with higher state of cluster development are more competitive. The experience of Latvian IT companies in the cluster's environment recognize that more can be achieved by working together than if acting alone. However, benefits of belonging to cluster aren't always recognized and exploited.
Cluster development is one of determinants used in the regional competitiveness that are related to the presence of competitive local suppliers and competitive local industries in the regional economy. The correlation analysis permits to conclude that regions, which are more competitive, have more developed clusters and regions with more developed clusters are more competitive. However, the comparison between competitiveness and cluster development of particular regions reveal that the impact of clusters on competitiveness can differ across regions and countries, thus creating challenges for policy makers. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the clusters' approach in promoting regional productivity, innovation and economic growth leading to increased competitiveness, yet arguing that the targeted cluster development can foster structural change leading to improved economic performance, as well as welfare.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.