The Global Competitiveness of Regions: Innovation ... · The Global Competitiveness of Regions:...
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Professor Robert Huggins
Centre for Economic Geography,
School of Geography and Planning,
Cardiff University, UK
INSEAD Breakfast Seminar,
Abu Dhabi, 24th March 2016
The Global Competitiveness of Regions: Innovation, Knowledge and Economic Growth
What is Competitiveness?
Competitiveness is the
capability of an economy to
attract and maintain firms
with stable or rising market
shares in an activity, while
maintaining stable or
increasing standards of living
for those who participate in
it.
Competitiveness and the Dimensions of Globalisation
According to Joseph Stiglitz globalisation has several distinct elements:
Knowledge
Trade
Movements of Labour
Foreign Direct Investment
Capital Market Liberalisation.
“At the top of the list is globalization of knowledge, the free flow of ideas that has followed the lowering of communication costs and the closer integration of societies. The transfer of the knowledge, which globalization has facilitated, is likely to prove one of the strongest forces for growth in emerging markets in coming decades.” (Stiglitz, 2004)
Measuring National Competitiveness
Global Competitiveness Report, WEF
Competitiveness is made up of 12 pillars, divided into 3 categories:
Factor Driven (basic requirements)
Efficiency Enhancers
Innovation Driven
World Competitiveness Scoreboard, IMD It divides the national environment into four main factors:
Economic Performance
Government Efficiency
Business Efficiency
Infrastructure
National competitiveness reports have benchmarked nations to identify the key drivers to a successful and sustainable economy
Telling the Full Story
National indicators fail to tell the full story
Different industries tend to cluster in particular regions
Metropolitan and rural areas
Resource abundant and resource dependent
Regional and local governments
By identifying the precise competitiveness of a region, governments can
address the needs for improvement with targeted measures
Disaggregating national competitiveness
Focusing investment
Identifying performance gaps between regions
Supporting industry linkages
National Competitiveness indices fall short in allowing policymakers and businesses to identify the precise regions to focus their efforts
Why regions, cities and
localities?
The focus on regions reflects the growing consensus that regions, cities and localities are the primary spatial unit
that compete to attract investment, and the level at
which knowledge is circulated and transferred,
resulting in agglomerations, or clusters, of industrial and service sector enterprises.
What Makes a Competitive Economy?
Competitiveness is influenced by a number of different factors including:
public and private investment in human capital,
the quality of physical infrastructure, the productivity of the workforce,
institutional capacity, social capital,
innovation and research facilities, accessibility to markets, and so on.
In other words, competitiveness is increasingly being
measured in terms of creativity, knowledge and environmental conditions, rather than purely on
accumulated wealth.
World Competitiveness Index of Regions - Indicators
World Competitiveness Index of Regions - Top 20 Regions
Middle Eastern Regions Benchmarked
World Competitiveness Index of Regions - Top 10 Middle Eastern Regions
World Competitiveness Index of Regions - Bottom 10 Middle Eastern Regions
Middle East Rank Region Nation WCIR score WCIR rank
26 Najran Saudi Arabia
19.98 457
27 Ras Al - Khaimah UAE
18.21 463
28 Tabouk Saudi Arabia
18.16 464
29 Fujairah UAE
17.60 466
30 Middle East Anatolia Turkey
10.88 478
31 Southeast Anatolia Turkey
10.34 480
32 Northeast Anatolia Turkey
6.39 485
33 Al-Jouf Saudi Arabia
6.25 486
34 Jazan Saudi Arabia
-17.86 518
35 Northern Borders Saudi Arabia
-21.84 523
Economic Freedom
Elements of Competitiveness – Middle Eastern Regions
What Economic Development and Planning Strategies are the World’s Most Successful Regions Implementing?
What Economic Development and Planning Strategies are the World’s Most Successful Regions Implementing?
Successful strategies usually include a wide variety of actors and key participants and influencers: Industry representatives
Universities and research institutions
Chambers of commerce
Economic development agencies.
In almost all cases they are built upon public-private partnership.
The most significant objectives of a successful
strategy are likely to be improving investment in R&D followed by education and workforce
development related goals.
Key Success Factors
Thank You