Applying a Comprehensive Neo-Schumpeterian Approach to Europe and its Lisbon Agenda

The paper shows that Comprehensive Neo-Schumpeterian Economics (CNSE) is an adequate theoretical approach accompanying the enforcement of the aims of the Lisbon Agenda. The CNSE approach is based on the principle of innovation and the idea of future orientation penetrating all spheres of economics which can be summarized in three domains of economic life: industry, finance and public sector, the 3-pillars of CNSE. The CNSE approach is applied to an empirical study of 18 OECD countries using a three step procedure: In a first step country patterns of pillars are identified in a cluster analysis. This gives a fine grained picture of institutional and structural set-ups for the countries under study. In a second step within the pillar clusters a performance analysis is exercised in order to rank the countries. Because of the similarities of countries within a cluster this comparative analysis can be done whereas for countries belonging to different clusters this comparison would lead to wrong conclusions. In a final step as a crude representation of macro-economic performance the cluster composition is sorted by the average growth rates of the economies. This allows a first correlation of pillar composition and growth performance.