Leadership aspects of regional development, energy security, and energy consumption

Abstract

This paper tackles the issue of regional development, as well as energy security and efficiency within the idea surrounding the concept of leadership. It can be seen that while some regions are lagging behind and falling into stagnation, other are prospering, even though the starting conditions seem to be equal. Moreover, given the same endowment and resources, some regions tend to yield poor energy efficiency and security, while other regions yield a steady growth and demonstrate innovations in energy generation, such as the use of renewable energy sources (RES). All in all, it can be concluded that the region's position in the local and international economy can be attributed to its level of leadership. Our results show that leadership represents an important aspect of regional development and that leaders should benefit from higher government funding and support. In addition, we conclude that there is a link between the position of leading regions and their energy security, efficiency, and consumption.