scholarly journals Operationalizing smart specialization in a Portuguese follower region

2020 ◽  
pp. 14-14
Author(s):  
Alexandre Almeida ◽  
Óscar Afonso ◽  
Mario Silva

The inability of the European Union (EU) to grow has raised questions regarding the effectiveness of competitiveness and growth policies. To increase efficacy, the EU has determined that regions must undergo an exercise in smart specialization and devise a strategy for the same. However, particularly in follower regions facing severe locked-in problems and structural bottlenecks, the application of smart specialization may require adjustments and a more dynamic vision, especially with regard to the follower regions. Furthermore, many operational issues arise in the programming and policy-devising stages. This article aims to contribute to this debate by proposing a framework to guide the selection of priorities and by applying the proposed framework to the Portuguese North region.

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 06026
Author(s):  
Oleksii Klok ◽  
Olha Loseva ◽  
Oleksandr Ponomarenko

The article studies theoretical and methodological bases of the strategic management of the development of administrative territories, considers the essence of strategic management and formulates the advantages of using it in management of administrative territory. Based on the analysis of the key provisions of the EU regional policy, the strategy of “smart specialization” is considered as the most common approach to territorial development. Using the experience of the countries of the European Union as a basis, a BPMN diagram, describing the conceptual bases for the formation of a competitive territory strategy, was built. Practical approaches to the formation of strategies for the development of administrative territories operating in Ukraine, regulatory acts, in particular, that had a direct impact on the formation of the existing model of strategic territorial management, were analyzed. The main requirements to the content of the strategic plan were considered and the list of key provisions and analytical methods (socio-economic analysis, comparative analysis, SWOT-analysis, PESTLE-analysis, sociological analysis) was formulated. Using the comparative legal analysis of the experience of the European Union as a basis, a number of features can be highlighted that must be taken into account in the process of forming the administrative territory development strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
João M. Lopes ◽  
Sofia Gomes ◽  
José Oliveira ◽  
Márcio Oliveira

This research aims to detect the factors that best explain the performance of regional innovation in the European Union (EU), in the year 2019, and compare the obtained results with the factors used to elucidate the performance of regional innovation in the EU during the year 2016. This comparison allowed us to identify the variations that have occurred during these 3 years. The methodology used is quantitative and served to identify the factors that clarify the performance of regional innovation in the EU in 2019. The data collected was treated in the econometric software Eviews10. Estimations used a multiple linear regression method. The attained results show that with the implementation of the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (RIS3), the Leader and Strong Regions benefited from its implementation. On the other hand, Moderate and Modest Regions failed to improve their innovative performance with the implementation of RIS3. On the practical contributions, it provides suggestions to the actors of the triple helix (Academy–Government–Industry) to improve the performance of innovation. Furthermore, it contributes to the theory by updating the knowledge of the existing literature with new dimensions from the 2019 RIS database. This research is original as it allows to appraise the evolution of the open innovative performance of the regions, by using comparative data from 2019 and 2016.


2021 ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
A.R. Dub ◽  

The intentions of the Ukrainian authorities to increase the competitiveness of regional economies based on smart specialization caused the study of the characteristics of financing projects of smart specialization of regions of the European Union. The introduction of innovations in the activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to increase their competitiveness is one of the key areas of financial support for smart specialization. The aim of the study is to identify the effectiveness of financial support for smart specialization projects in the EU regions in terms of funding research, development and innovation aimed at improving the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses. In the course of the study, we analyzed the databases of the European Structural and Investment Funds on the amount of funding for research, development and innovation aimed at increasing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized busi nesses, by areas of funding and EU countries. We also compared the level of use of funds and the level of achievement of the goals planned in the projects. EU countries and regions used the funds planned by the European Structural and Investment Funds to finance the implementation of innovations in SMEs only by a third due to weak interaction of SMEs with research centers, as well as due to insufficient projects to improve the efficiency of SMEs through implementation results of research, development and innovation. The main emphasis in supporting small and medium-sized businesses through the implementation of research advances has been placed in the smart specialization strategies of the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, the United Kingdom and Germany. However, the largest amount of funding for research, development and innovation in SMEs in 2014-2020 among EU member states was planned, in addition to Poland and Germany, for Italy and Spain. The analysis showed that by 2020 the level of implementation of only certain goals of smart specialization reached 50 % or more of the planned indicators. However, in the context of the EU countries, there was no homogeneity in achieving all the goals related to the development and functioning of small and medium-sized businesses through the implementation of research, development and innovation. The efficiency of using the financial resources of the European Structural and Investment Funds for the implementation of smart specialization strategies in the EU regions was not high. It is likely that by 2023 when the projects launched in 2014-2020 will be completed, the level of achievement by the EU regions of smart specialization goals in terms of implementing research, development and innovation in SMEs will increase. Nevertheless, in our opinion, it will not be possible to achieve their full implementation.


2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1980-1996
Author(s):  
T.S. Malakhova

Subject. Foreign economic and trade ties among countries are getting tighter and less predictable in the early 21st century. This directly stems from a growing disparity of partners, especially if it goes about their future cooperation as part of integration groups or international organizations. Communities of experts suggest using various approaches to locally adjusting integration phases, especially implementing the two-speed integration in the European Union. Objectives. The study is an attempt to examine an improvement of foreign economic cooperation and suggest its implementation steps for the European Union. This all is due to considerable inner controversies and problems within the EU, which grow more serious year by year. Methods. The methodological framework comprises the historical logic, dialectical principles, scientific abstraction method. The process and system approach was especially important for justifying the implementation of the above steps. It was used to examine foreign economic relations of partners in the European Union. Results. The article sets forth the theoretical and methodological framework for the geostrategic economic bloc, including a conceptual structure model. I present steps to implement a foreign economic cooperation of partners in the EU in terms of its form. Conclusions and Relevance. Should the form of the foreign economic relations among the EU countries be implemented, counties at the periphery of the EU will be able to become active parties to the integration group.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.


Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Olga María Cerqueira Torres

RESUMENEn el presente artículo el análisis se ha centrado en determinar cuáles de las funciones del interregionalismo, sistematizadas en los trabajos de Jürgen Rüland, han sido desarrolladas en la relación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones, ya que ello ha permitido evidenciar si el estado del proceso de integración de la CAN ha condicionado la racionalidad política del comportamiento de la Unión Europea hacia la región andina (civil power o soft imperialism); esto posibilitará establecer la viabilidad de la firma del Acuerdo de Asociación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones.Palabras clave: Unión Europea, Comunidad Andina, interregionalismo, funciones, acuerdo de asociación. Interregionalism functions in the EU-ANDEAN community relationsABSTRACTIn the present article analysis has focused on which functions of interregionalism, systematized by Jürgen Rüland, have been developed in the European Union-Andean Community birregional relation, that allowed demonstrate if the state of the integration process in the Andean Community has conditioned the political rationality of the European Union towards the Andean region (civil power or soft imperialism); with all these elements will be possible to establish the viability of the Association Agreement signature between the European Union and the Andean Community.Keywords: European Union, Andean Community, interregionalism, functions, association agreement.


2020 ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kusztykiewicz-Fedurek

Political security is very often considered through the prism of individual states. In the scholar literature in-depth analyses of this kind of security are rarely encountered in the context of international entities that these countries integrate. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to key aspects of political security in the European Union (EU) Member States. The EU as a supranational organisation, gathering Member States first, ensures the stability of the EU as a whole, and secondly, it ensures that Member States respect common values and principles. Additionally, the EU institutions focus on ensuring the proper functioning of the Eurozone (also called officially “euro area” in EU regulations). Actions that may have a negative impact on the level of the EU’s political security include the boycott of establishing new institutions conducive to the peaceful coexistence and development of states. These threats seem to have a significant impact on the situation in the EU in the face of the proposed (and not accepted by Member States not belonging to the Eurogroup) Eurozone reforms concerning, inter alia, appointment of the Minister of Economy and Finance and the creation of a new institution - the European Monetary Fund.


2018 ◽  
pp. 10-37
Author(s):  
Barbara Curyło

In the discussion on the future of the EU, the topic of differentiated integration has become a strategic issue, with different variants beginning to appear as modus operandi of the European Union, which has become a subject of controversy among Member States. Significantly, the debate on differentiated integration began to be accompanied by reflections on disintegration. This article attempts to define disintegration on the assumption that it should be defined through the prism of integration, and that such a defining process can not be limited to concluding a one-way contrast between disintegration versus integration and vice versa. This is due to the assumption that the European Union is a dichotomous construct in which integration and disintegration mutually exclude and complement each other. This dichotomy is most evident in the definition of integration and disintegration through the prism of Europeanisation top-down and bottom-up processes that generate, reveal, visualize, stimulate integration mechanisms what allows to diagnose their determinants.


2016 ◽  
pp. 110-119
Author(s):  
Łukasz Zamęcki

The aim of the paper is to analyse the sources of the crisis of legitimacy of the EU from the perspective of the intergovernmental paradigm. The paper also focuses on the nature of this crisis and the possibilities of increasing the legitimacy of the EU. The author claims that the crisis of legitimacy is a result of the fact that there is “too much Europe”, not “too little”. According to Andrew Moravcsik’s approach to intergovernmentalism, the EU crisis is a result of feeling that the European Union has ceased to be seen as an effective tool for realising the interests of the states, or that the states started to define their preferences in the integration process in an unreasonable way.


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