Regional Economic Policy in Europe presents a tightly focused selection of policy, empirical and theoretical perspectives on contemporary dimensions of regional economic policy in the EU. It concentrates on three areas; the dissimilarities and resulting convergence of disparate regions within the EU; the localisation of economic activities and how regions can understand and manage them and, finally, the experiences and lessons that can be drawn from European regional policy. While exploring EU cohesion and regional development more widely, the book also examines Spanish, Belgian and Eastern European experiences on growth, human capital, foreign investment and technological spillovers. This up-to-date and thoroughly researched study is one that will be appreciated by academics and researchers of European studies and regional economics in Europe. Policymakers will also find the conclusions reached within the pages of this book invaluable.

This book contributes fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on competitiveness and growth in connection with the commitment made by European leaders at the Lisbon Summit in 2000 to 'render the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world by 2010, capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion'. Until now, there has been little in-depth economic analysis of the objectives and policy implementations of the Lisbon Strategy. Competitiveness and Growth in Europe aims to fill this gap by contributing to a better and deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the Lisbon Strategy. This book presents, in a coherent framework, policy relevant research on the main aspects of the Lisbon Agenda: the determinants of growth, cohesion strategies and the role of institutions, education, R&D and technological progress in economic performance. It will be of particular interest to researchers and policy makers working in the fields of competitiveness and growth in the context of economic and monetary integration as well as to academics of European studies in general.