This report, and accompanying CD-ROM, is the second edition of the European Competitiveness Index (ECI), which follows the success of the first edition published in 2004. The ECI measures, compares and examines the competitiveness of Europe?s regions and nations. We define such competitiveness as the capability of an economy to maintain increasing standards of living for those who participate in it, by attracting and maintaining firms with stable or rising market shares in an activity. As such, the competitiveness of a region will depend on its ability to anticipate and successfully adapt to internal and external economic and social challenges, by providing new economic opportunities, including higher quality jobs.
The importance of the concept of competitiveness is now firmly embedded within economic policymaking in Europe, and indeed around the world. As such, measuring, understanding and analysing competitiveness at a number of geographic levels has become a vital factor in creating an informed dialogue that can contribute to a policy environment attuned to enhancing the economic performance of Europe?s nations and regions.
Since the 2004 report, the face of the EU has since changed dramatically, with the 2004 enlargement bringing ten new countries into the Union. With data now available for these new EU states, the European Competitiveness Index 2006-07 has been expanded to include all EU-25 nations and their respective NUTS-1 regions. This continued focus on regions, as well as nations, reflects the growing consensus that it is regions that are the primary spatial unit that compete to attract investment, and the level at which knowledge is circulated and transferred, resulting in agglomerations, or clusters, of industrial and service sector enterprises
Regions Benchmarked by the European Competitiveness Index Brussels, Belgium Vlaams Gewest, Belgium R
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