The economic challenge for Europe. Adapting to innovation based growth

Book abstract:

Europe's performance relative to the US and countries in Asia is a topic that greatly preoccupies policymakers who are concerned that the European Union is losing ground compared to other, more dynamic, parts of the world. This book presents the scale and scope of the challenges that Europe faces in adjusting to globalisation and advances in technology.

The evidence assembled in this book points to trends in European Union performance that policymakers may find disconcerting. In many areas, it is claimed that Europe has not kept pace with the technological advances of competitors and seems to have lost its dynamism. Employment creation has been lacklustre, new specialisations have been slow to emerge and the rate of innovation has been disappointing. The core message in this book is that the problems Europe faces in key areas such as growth, equality and employment are all related to its failure to take sufficient advantage of technological advances, particularly the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution. It is concluded that a coherent European strategy for upgrading technological capability and embedding new technologies, especially ICTs, in society is long overdue.

The chapters are: Europe - a long view; The impact of specialisation in Europe; European competitiveness: quality rather than price; Employment dynamics and structural change in Europe; Europe and the information and communication technologies revolution; Lack of regional convergence; Europe: one or several systems of innovation? An analysis based on patent citations; Changing the regional system of innovation; The implications of eastward enlargement for EU integration, convergence and competitiveness; Conclusions and policy innovations.

The book will be indispensable to scholars and policymakers in the areas of economic growth, international competitiveness, innovation, regional development and European studies.