The EU regional competitiveness : index 2016

This paper presents the results of the third edition of the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) which measures the different dimensions of competitiveness at the regional level in the European Union (EU). The regional dimension is important because most competitiveness factors are not evenly distributed over space and many are influenced or even determined by regional and local authorities. The 2016 edition follows two previous ones published by the European Commission in 2010 and 2013 (Annoni and Kozovska, 2010; Dijkstra, Annoni and Kozovska, 2011; Annoni and Dijkstra, 2013). They are all built on the approach of the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum (GCI-WEF). The 2016 index is based on 74 mostly regional indicators covering the 2012-2014 period, but with a number of indicators from 2015 and 2016. The index should, above all, be seen as an instrument providing a range of comparable information at the regional level. It aims to provide a consistent, comparable and actionable measure of economic and social issues for the regions in the EU. It helps regions to measure their competitiveness and compare it with that of their peers. The RCI can encourage regions to look beyond the other regions in their country to plan their long-term development. Within this perspective, we hope that regions will use the results to guide their development strategies. Even though the RCI is not entirely comparable over time, due to recurrent and often unavoidable revisions of regional indicators and NUTS classification, the three RCI editions provide a unique policy tool for monitoring and assessing regional competitiveness in the EU. This paper shows the most relevant changes over the three editions, changes which are more likely to reflect a change in the region's performance than small adjustments to the method.