Search results

The purpose of this paper is to address the influence of the changes in the European economic landscape in the aftermath of the break up of the iron curtain and the new dynamics of the process of European integration in the since 1989. The main focus is on the interaction between political and economic aspects of transition and reintegration in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). In the first section a concept of spatial integration is sketched based on political and economic concepts of integration. The second part provides a brief record of political and economic integration and reintegration in the Baltic Sea Region. The central hypothesis is that the region has embarked on a path toward a coherent economic and political region with regard to political and economic affiliation. We have seen a consolidation of the old market economies within one trading block, and the former state trade economies will join the EU within two years. The old division of the Nordic countries into two different blocks concerning security policy seems also to diminish. In the same period, the cleavages between East and West with regard to security policy and economic system have disappeared. The paper aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of this process at the end of the first phase of transition at the threshold of the creation of a unified economic space in the Baltic Sea Region. The empirical section will contain information on economic flows as well as an assessment of the institutional changes within the BSR and the emerging new system of production and division of labor in the area. The final section will, based on the concept of spatial integration discuss, whether or not the BSR constitutes a functional region within the European regional system. Keywords: European economic integration - Transition and transformation in the BSR - The BSR in the European regional system - Trade and Production in the BSR

The purpose of this paper is to provide a tentative record of the process of integration between the EU and the East and Central European economies. Twelve years after the break up of the former state trade system in Eastern Europe, a new international system of production and trade is visible. The first transition countries are on the edge of becoming members of the EU. After a brief examination of the state of the 'pre-accession' with regard to trade, FDI and the adaptation to the economic regime of market economies the nature of economic links between the EU and the CEEC is analyzed. Point of departure is a survey of the political and institutional framework for economic transactions established during the decade. Based on this overview the main focus is on the issue of the participation of the former state trade economies in the regional production system in Europe. The first step is an overall assessment of economic links (i.e. trade and FDI) within the region and between the involved countries and the outside world. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of trade and specialization is added, mainly through an outline of intra-industry trade between the EU and the former transition economies. The third step of the investigation concentrates on a case study of a particular sector (textile and apparel) to illuminate impacts of integration not only in the transition economies, but also in the EU countries. The final section of the paper offers the findings and an assessment of the level of integration within the region. The latter is based on theoretical concepts of economic integration. Finally a number of scenarios for the future trends of development in the economic relations between the CEEC and the EU are sketched, in particular with regard to impacts on regional and international competitiveness. Key words: A new system of production - specialization - trade - FDI - regional integration- competitiveness.

Abstract: Eight years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain economic and political cleavages are still visible in Europe. With respect to social and economic transition the saliency of the problems seem to increase, as the efforts to solve the problems become the common business of governments and international organizations. Regional economic and political integration have significant impacts on this process, namely through the European Union programs for restructuring and development. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the main problems in the process of transition and reintegration has to so overcome from a theoretical and conceptual point of view. The theoretical anchors political and economic theories of regional integration. After a period with declining attention, regional integration has again become topic in various parts of the world. Concepts of integration are still pivotal in Europe, partly regarding the internal development of the European Union, partly as a framework of cooperation between the EU and the rest of Europe. Based on the analysis of the concepts of Regional Economic Cooperation in Europe, the links between international economic integration and internal development are analyzed. The relationship between makcroeconomic integration and the necessary of providing instruments to cover specific areas or sector from significant adverse effects of this process is given special attention in the analysis. This part of the analysis will focus on the needs for restructuring of existing EU-policies to meet the challenges of the next enlargements. The theoretical concepts will be used for a principal evaluation of the needs for a future regional policy for an enlarged community. The process of transition and recovery in East Europe has been challenged not only by the regained influence of traditional political groups in East Europe but also through the reluctance of the EU to open their markets in sectors where the former CMEA-countries are competitive. To avoid further drawbacks it seems necessary to establish a self sustainable economic system able to handle external (i.e. the process of enlargement) as well as internal (i.e. the structural funds) demands for restructuring. The first precondition is the opening of western markets. The second is to provide a reliable regime for development and knowledge transfer. Last but not least, the paper stress' the need to establish a reasonable framework for cooperation until the East and Central Europe can participate on equal terms in the mainstream of European Integration, and to handle the different waves of membership negotiations in a reliable way. Keywords: Reintegration, Regime for transition, Concepts of structural adaptation and integration.

This paper, by drawing on various interpretations or storylines of territorial cohesion and by referring to the national policy contexts in Denmark and Germany, critically assesses the concept of territorial cohesion and its added value by exploring what difference the formal recognition of territorial cohesion makes for EU, national and regional policymaking in terms of adapted policy objectives, altered perceptions of territory and place and modified policy instruments. It is argued herein that even though territorial cohesion obviously changes the rationales underlying the cohesion policies and strategic European spatial development policies by emphasising the potential of territorial capital for innovation and employment, the concept of territorial capital is not completely new. Some of the objectives or meanings can be found in former EU cohesion or spatial development policies; additionally, some EU member states such as Denmark have pursued this type of strategy since the early 1990s. Additionally, in Germany, instruments for social and economic cohesion already cover territorial aspects, meaning that the added value of the concept of territorial cohesion can critically be questioned. Furthermore, Denmark and Germany are both sceptical with regard to the introduction of new funding priorities and instruments; the old ones obviously work sufficiently as convergence among regions could be achieved from a country-by-country perspective. Nevertheless, an important advantage of the concept of territorial cohesion is that it offers added value for rethinking current (spatial) policies, strategies and instruments in EU member states that do not have such a long tradition or established system of spatial development policies. From this perspective, the concept of territorial cohesion has sharpened the attention paid to the territorial implications of European policies from a broader perspective, and thus it may serve as a conceptual tool to deal with these issues, not only from an economic but also from a spatial planning and policy coordination perspective.

This paper, by drawing on various interpretations or storylines of territorial cohesion and by referring to the national policy contexts in Denmark and Germany, critically assesses the concept of territorial cohesion and its added value by exploring what difference the formal recognition of territorial cohesion makes for EU, national and regional policymaking in terms of adapted policy objectives, altered perceptions of territory and place and modified policy instruments. It is argued herein that even though territorial cohesion obviously changes the rationales underlying the cohesion policies and strategic European spatial development policies by emphasising the potential of territorial capital for innovation and employment, the concept of territorial capital is not completely new. Some of the objectives or meanings can be found in former EU cohesion or spatial development policies; additionally, some EU member states such as Denmark have pursued this type of strategy since the early 1990s. Additionally, in Germany, instruments for social and economic cohesion already cover territorial aspects, meaning that the added value of the concept of territorial cohesion can critically be questioned. Furthermore, Denmark and Germany are both sceptical with regard to the introduction of new funding priorities and instruments; the old ones obviously work sufficiently as convergence among regions could be achieved from a country-by-country perspective. Nevertheless, an important advantage of the concept of territorial cohesion is that it offers added value for rethinking current (spatial) policies, strategies and instruments in EU member states that do not have such a long tradition or established system of spatial development policies. From this perspective, the concept of territorial cohesion has sharpened the attention paid to the territorial implications of European policies from a broader perspective, and thus it may serve as a conceptual tool to deal with these issues, not only from an economic but also from a spatial ...

Spatial aspects of economic and social cohesion have become a major target in European policy in the last decades. By combining the structural funds with spatial development perspectives, the recently introduced concept of territorial cohesion obviously functions as link between EU regional policy and spatial development. In other terms, territorial cohesion should be considered as an umbrella concept complementing and reinforcing economic and social cohesion. The purpose of the paper thus is twofold. First, it is the aim to analyze briefly the socio-economic background and the changes in the regional economic structure of the EU, partly as a result of socio-economic changes, partly as a consequence of the enlargement from 15 predominantly wealthy mature marked economies with 12 transition economies and two small Mediterranean states. The first section also provides (1) a brief outline of the history and the political foundations of the emergence of the EU regional policy in the aftermath of the first attempts to create an Economic and Monetary Union; and (2) an analysis of the main trends in European economic convergence and disparities to provide empirical evidence why the issue has climbed upwards on the political agenda in the last decade. The second purpose is then to analyze the added value (if there is any) of the concept of territorial cohesion for economic and social convergence by providing an analytical overview of the changes in the spatial agenda from European spatial planning -starting in the 1970's with the establishment of the CEMAT by the European Council - to territorial cohesion and its implications for the EU regional policy. Furthermore, the paper discusses the recent attempts to integrate the issues of economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU cohesion policy 2007-13 and the Lisbon Treaty on the reform of European Union. This section also analyzes the altered balance between the European and the national level with regard to spatial and territorial issues. The final section of the paper summarizes the main findings with special attention on the North European context.

The purpose of the current paper is to analyze the impact of regional potentials on the process of growth. How are different types of regions (e.g. medium sized [city] regions, rural regions, urban regions or metropolitan and high-tech cluster regions) affected by improved performance, and to what extent can differences be explained by ex-ante difference in income? Based on data from the regional innovation scoreboard (RIS) is this issue addressed relative to the income level, previous growth performance and convergence. In the first part of the paper, the innovation performance of the regions is modelled relative to the income level and the underlying influencing factors are identified. Hereby, we are able to identify strengthens and weaknesses of the innovation structure in different regions. In addition the issues of returns to scale will be considered. In the second part of the paper the innovation performance is related to the process of convergence and divergence. Earlier research has shown that although convergence is present at aggregated European Union level a much more diversified picture is revealed at the disaggregated level. Here it is frequently observed that the more wealthy and central regions move away from the other regions. One of the results is that the economic crisis has reinforced not only intraregional divergence within countries but also the traditional divide between the stronger Northwest European countries and the South and East of Europe. Finally, the paper discusses and evaluates the impact of different types of innovation performance and the level of income on the perspectives of economic growth for different types of regions. A number of scenarios a sketched for the perspectives of the regions depending on endogenous as well as external factor endowment and dynamics.

The influence of general economic and fiscal policy is in recent years more significant than ever. Tight budgets sets limits on public spending in general and on regional development in particular, both with regard to programs specifically targeted on regional issue, but often also indirect due to changes in the geographical distribution of public spending (i.e. local purchasing of goods and services) or the location of institutions etc. Furthermore the focus on (global) competitiveness, innovation ?smart growth? in the Lisbon and Euro 2020 strategy seems to have a build in effect toward economic activities usually located in center or metropolitan areas. Based on an analysis of the dominant policy measures used in EU structural and R&D policy the aim of the current paper is to assess, to what extent they have supported regional convergence, not only between but also within countries. The conceptual point of departure is new economic growth theory and the measures derived from these concepts. An attempt is made to analyze regional difference in the relevant factor endowments and to measure the impacts on regional convergence in a European (country wise) and urban-rural perspective. The first part of the paper discusses the overall development with regard to Structural funds and the distribution of grants with focus on the developments and perspectives until 2020. The second part considers the impact on the process of convergence of the current decline in the overall economic trends in Europe in a regional context. In addition, in influence of innovation on the development in a European perspective in analyzed along with increasing concentration of the population in urban areas. Finally, the paper addresses the perspectives of the pursued policy in different regions.

A recent study for the Danish government has identified innovation as one of the major drivers of regional competitiveness in Denmark. Innovation and the capacity to innovate are crucial factors in the development of a firm and its ability to adapt to changes in the external environment. In particular changes in the international production system with increasing out-sourcing of physical production from Western Europe has highlighted the need for an alternative economic base in many regions. As a consequence, attention has been on the role of innovation policy in economic policy in general and regional development in particular. The aim of this paper is to analyze the interaction between the actors in the innovative environment (i.e. the firm, advisory and research institution) and the external environment as a part of a broader network of innovative relations covering intra-firm as well as extra-firm relations and processes. The project covers the following aspects: • In the first part of the paper concepts and policies of innovation are discussed with regard to their ability to move the economy toward higher growth. • The second section provides a brief overview of regional convergence and disparities in Denmark in the last decade, and compares with the trends in a broader European perspective. • The next section summarizes the findings of a recent study of the regional system of innovation in Western Denmark, and provides a critical review of the role of innovation in the process of economic restructuring in the perspective of growing internationalization in many branches. Based on this assessment the future perspectives of regional policy in Denmark are discussed on the background of the ongoing reorganization of local and regional government in general, and the introduction of five regional growth-forums in particular.

Contents: 1. Introduction: setting the stage; identifying the major drivers of globalization / Charlie Karlsson, Andreas P. Cornett and Tina Wallin -- Part I: General aspects of globalization -- 2. Does culture matter? The role of board efficacy, growth and competitiveness in Western and Asian Corporate Governance / Ossi Pesämaa and Martin Svensson -- 3. The impact of technology spillovers and international knowledge flows on the productivity and innovativeness of UK multinationals / Gary Cook, Yevgeniya Shevtsova and Hans Lööf -- 4. How does distance determine multinational location choice? A literature review / Trudy-Ann Stone -- Part II: Sector-specific transformations -- 5. Yanagiya: One of the best practice manufacturing SMEs in Japan / Makoto Hirano, Mitsuhiro Kurashige and Kiyonori Sakakibara -- 6. ICT as a driver of innovation : a life cycle approach / Ola Olsson -- Part III: Implications for regions in general -- 7. Knowledge-based strategies and sources of growth in small and medium-sized cities: a lesson from the literature / Amjad Naveed -- 8. Location, location, location: place-specific human capital, rural firm entry and firm survival / Georgeanne M. Artz, Zizhen Guo, and Peter F. Orazem -- 9. Succeeding generations, changing trajectories : influences of generational transition on local development experiences / Ozan Hovardaoǧlu -- 10. The Swedish commuting pattern : a gravity model of commuting, with housing-expenditure and income constraints / Michael Olsson -- Part IV: Implications for cross-border regions -- 11. Employment and economic activity in different Swedish border regions / Tobias Arvemo and Urban Gråsjö -- 12. Identifying potential human capital creation within the cross-border institutional thickness model in the Rhine-Waal Region / Nino Javakhishvili-Larsen, Andreas P. Cornett, and Martin Klatt -- Index.

Bei dem Forschungsprojekt "Innovationsverhalten klein- und mittelständischer Unternehmen" handelt es sich um eine deutsch-dänische Zusammenarbeit, deren Ziel es ist, zum Verständnis von Innovationsprozessen und deren kooperativen Zusammenhängen beizutragen. Basis der Studie bilden die Daten einer breit angelegten quantitativen Befragung von Unternehmen und Beratungsinstitutionen aus dem Jahr 2003. Zentraler Forschungsgegenstand des deutsch-dänischen Projektes sind Unterschiede im Innovationsverhalten von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen und der unterstützenden Beratungswirtschaft in Deutschland und Dänemark. Dazu wurde eine breit angelegte Fragebogenuntersuchung in den Regionen Süd-, und Westdänkemark, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern durchgeführt, um die kritischen Erfolgsfaktoren zu identifizieren, die erfolgreiche Strategien und Verhaltensmuster determinieren. Der Einbezug sowohl von Unternehmen als auch von Beratungsinstitutionen verschiedener Branchen in die Stichproben der Untersuchung erlaubt es, das Zusammenspiel von Unternehmen, dem Beratungssystem und Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinstitutionen auch in Hinblick auf einen binationalen Vergleich quantitativ zu untersuchen.