This book investigates the EU’s regional growth dynamics and, in particular, the reasons why peripheral and socio-economically disadvantaged areas have persistently failed to catch up with the rest of the Union. It shows that the capability of the knowledge-based growth model to deliver its...

The United States and European Union differ significantly in terms of their innovative capacity: the former have been able to gain and maintain world leadership in innovation and technology while the latter continues to lag. Notwithstanding the magnitude of this innovation gap and the political...

1 Introduction -- 2 Theoretical Frameworks: A Spatial Perspective on Innovation and the Genesis of Regional Growth -- 3 Geographical Accessibility and Human Capital Accumulation -- 4 The Role of Underlying Socio-Economic Conditions -- 5 Knowledge Flows and Their Spatial Extent -- 6 Innovation in...

A number of empirical analyses has found evidence that the impact of the EU structural funds on the growth performance of assisted regions is comparatively weak and has failed to promote the objective of economic and social cohesion. This literature explains this lack of convergence in terms of...