Final Report Summary - IAREG (Intangible Assets and Regional Economic Growth)
Globalisation and increased competition are putting new types of pressure on companies and, by extension, on the regions that depend on their success. Flexibility, the ability to immediately adapt to market developments, and proactivism in creating future markets, are the earmarks of this new era.
The relative importance of (physical) resource endowment as drivers of regional growth is decreasing as these factors are now almost ubiquitously available. However, 'soft' production factors, that is, those related to personal bounded knowledge, are becoming more important. This is reflected in the endogenous growth theory, which regards to human capital and knowledge as driving factors of economic growth in industrialised countries.
All these 'soft' production factors can be generically grouped in what is known 'intangible sssets' (IA).
There is increasing interest, from the academic, policy and corporate environment on the impact of IA on economic processes. These assets can be defined as 'non-material factors that contribute to enterprise performance in the production of goods or the provision of services, or that are expected to generate future economic benefits to the entities or individuals that control their deployment' (Eustace 2000: 31).
IA contribute to production and productivity both within the firm (through human and organisational capital, intellectual assets, brand name, etc.) and outside it (through local externalities, the legal and institutional framework, the education system, property rights protection, social capital, among others).
In this IAREG project, we have analysed the role of these IA on regional economic growth. We have focused on some of them, taking special attention to the more relevant ones, to the assets for which it is possible to have more reliable quantitative statistical information, and finally, to the assets where the consortium has more expertise. Consequently, we have outlined this report in four big factors: knowledge capital, human capital, social capital and entrepreneurship capital. Additionally to the main characteristics of each of these IA (related with their measurement and their effects on regional economic growth), we have also analysed the ensemble effects of these IA over the location of firms.
The IAREG project fits within the EU 2020 Strategy. One of its main objectives is to create value by basing growth on knowledge, through the improvement of education and training in general, to increase productivity. Secondly, it is also aimed at empowering people in inclusive societies, advancing the flexicurity agenda to ensure it is better understood in terms not only of flexibility from employees but also of employers. Third, in the strategy it is considered that Europe needs a new industrial policy emphasising innovation capacity, skills and fostering entrepreneurship. All in all, we observe how the EU 2020 Strategy is taking full consideration of a wide array of intangible assets, such as the ones we focus in the IAREG project.
Specific objectives
-To develop new indicators for improving the measuring of the IA. To understand the role that IA play in the processes of innovation and knowledge accumulation at the regional level.
- To identify the mechanisms underlying knowledge diffusion and the role of IA in this process, in order to better understand the impact on regional growth.
- To analyse the role that knowledge, human, social and entrepreneurship capital have on regional economic growth and productivity.
- To examine how IA and their interaction define the environment that affect the localisation choice of the firms.
- To measure the role of externalities in the generation of IA and in determining local economic performances in Europe and in the diffusion of knowledge.
- To extract policy guidelines for public administrations practitioners.
- To diffuse the project results to policy makers at European, national and regional level.
The relative importance of (physical) resource endowment as drivers of regional growth is decreasing as these factors are now almost ubiquitously available. However, 'soft' production factors, that is, those related to personal bounded knowledge, are becoming more important. This is reflected in the endogenous growth theory, which regards to human capital and knowledge as driving factors of economic growth in industrialised countries.
All these 'soft' production factors can be generically grouped in what is known 'intangible sssets' (IA).
There is increasing interest, from the academic, policy and corporate environment on the impact of IA on economic processes. These assets can be defined as 'non-material factors that contribute to enterprise performance in the production of goods or the provision of services, or that are expected to generate future economic benefits to the entities or individuals that control their deployment' (Eustace 2000: 31).
IA contribute to production and productivity both within the firm (through human and organisational capital, intellectual assets, brand name, etc.) and outside it (through local externalities, the legal and institutional framework, the education system, property rights protection, social capital, among others).
In this IAREG project, we have analysed the role of these IA on regional economic growth. We have focused on some of them, taking special attention to the more relevant ones, to the assets for which it is possible to have more reliable quantitative statistical information, and finally, to the assets where the consortium has more expertise. Consequently, we have outlined this report in four big factors: knowledge capital, human capital, social capital and entrepreneurship capital. Additionally to the main characteristics of each of these IA (related with their measurement and their effects on regional economic growth), we have also analysed the ensemble effects of these IA over the location of firms.
The IAREG project fits within the EU 2020 Strategy. One of its main objectives is to create value by basing growth on knowledge, through the improvement of education and training in general, to increase productivity. Secondly, it is also aimed at empowering people in inclusive societies, advancing the flexicurity agenda to ensure it is better understood in terms not only of flexibility from employees but also of employers. Third, in the strategy it is considered that Europe needs a new industrial policy emphasising innovation capacity, skills and fostering entrepreneurship. All in all, we observe how the EU 2020 Strategy is taking full consideration of a wide array of intangible assets, such as the ones we focus in the IAREG project.
Specific objectives
-To develop new indicators for improving the measuring of the IA. To understand the role that IA play in the processes of innovation and knowledge accumulation at the regional level.
- To identify the mechanisms underlying knowledge diffusion and the role of IA in this process, in order to better understand the impact on regional growth.
- To analyse the role that knowledge, human, social and entrepreneurship capital have on regional economic growth and productivity.
- To examine how IA and their interaction define the environment that affect the localisation choice of the firms.
- To measure the role of externalities in the generation of IA and in determining local economic performances in Europe and in the diffusion of knowledge.
- To extract policy guidelines for public administrations practitioners.
- To diffuse the project results to policy makers at European, national and regional level.
