Do EU regions benefit from Smart Specialisation principles?. Issue 12 (2nd December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rigby, David L.; Roesler, Christoph; Kogler, Dieter; Boschma, Ron; Balland, Pierre-Alexandre
• Is Part Of: Regional studies. Volume 56:Issue 12(2022)
• Page Start: 2058
• Page End: 2073
• Publication Date: 2022-12-02
• Subjects: Smart Specialisation -- policy -- complexity -- technological relatedness -- European Union; O25 -- O38 -- R11; Regional planning -- Periodicals; Regional planning -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 307.14
• DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2022.2032628
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0034-3404

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Smart Specialisation was conceived as a 'bottom-up' framework to identify new growth paths connected to knowledge cores within regions. Although operationalization of Smart Specialisation has proven difficult, recent mappings of technologies in terms of technological relatedness and complexity suggest a useful cost–benefit framework. We extend these ideas, locating European Union cities in a Smart Specialisation space and tracking their development of technology since 1980. Results indicate that European Union cities with the largest gains in complex and related technologies enjoy an economic performance premium over cities with smaller gains in the complexity and relatedness of their knowledge bases.