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