Margarita Barrera (p), Rosa Duarte

Specialization of regions in specific economic activities have been considered a key factor for economic growth. However, recent studies prove economic growth not to be only related with specialization but with diversification. This issue together with the use of R&D and skilled labour, for its connectedness with the increase in economic promotion, are considered in this paper in order to determine whether High-Tech increases economic growth in more specialized or more diversified regions. The methodology used includes the analysis of input-output database with the consideration of a Leontief model for two periods of time: 1995-2007 and 2008-2014 together with the analysis of the comparative advantages of countries included in the study. The level of R&D investment by sectors and high skilled labour will be considered.

Jesús F. Lampón , Francisco Carballo-Cruz (p)

Under the Global Value Chain (GVC) approach, a geographical model in which certain regions have decision power in the distribution and coordination of productive and technological activities can be built. This spatial model can be dynamic and therefore allow to change the initial status of a region within the GVC in a given industry. Through a comparative analysis between two regions of different geographical systems of production in the automotive sector, this research highlights the importance of the degree of multinationalisation and the technological innovation capacity of domestic companies in the evolution of a region within the GVC. This evolution allows the region to control activities of greater added value, with more complex competences and capabilities and greater content in knowledge. Institutions may have a relevant role in this evolution, namely if they are able to improve the performance of innovation infrastructures and to focus their policies towards the development and strengthen of domestic companies.

Declan Jordan (p)

There is strong evidence of growing regional divergence in Europe, with capital-city regions, even in poorer countries, growing more rapidly than non-core regions. However, there is limited research on the characteristics of capitals per se that underpin such growth, that is whether there is a specific factor that comes with being a capital city, as opposed to being a large city, that helps development.

In football, there is anecdotal evidence that capital city clubs perform less well, relative to provincial city clubs, at least at European competition level. This is ascribed to lower importance for football as a source of identity in capital cities with other attractions and amenities. However, it has also been suggested that clubs in capital cities in countries with dictators or totalitarian regimes perform better because of the ability of the regime to concentrate power in specific clubs, most often in the capital. There may be a persistent advantage in this that carries over after the end of totalitarian rule.

Using data from 26 European top tier football championships for 22 years from 1994 to 2015, the paper tests whether capital city-based clubs out-perform other clubs in domestic leagues. The paper also asks whether capital city power, proxied by the share size of the capital city relative to the rest of the country, matters for performance. Further it explores the extent to which history matters by analyzing whether formerly centrally-planned states of Central and Eastern Europe demonstrate stronger capital city club performance.
The findings indicate that relative importance of the capital city (measured by share of population) improves the performance of clubs. After controlling for capital size, there is a greater probability of capital success in former socialist countries. This effect is seen to diminish over time, though there is persistence. A higher proportion of capital clubs in the league is associated with a higher probability of a capital-city winner, but also worsens average league position. This suggests that market size matters for success, but is mitigated by competition from other clubs in the city.

Andre Carrascal (p), Bert Steenge

The Rectangular Choice of Technology (RCOT) model of Duchin and Levine (2011) predicts that, when final demand grows under supply constraints of resources, a new technology may enter and displace the old one. This projection works under the assumption of shared production factors among the different technologies producing the same output. This model also provides a framework of multiples technologies in which we can quantify the economy-wide effects of the increase in natural resource scarcity. In a world trade context, each country produces a similar commodity with a different technology, showing the comparative advantage of the regions in certain productions. However, if the production factors are embedded in a technology-specific framework, the theoretical result suggests that the new technology is going to complement the original one, predicting production for more than one country. This controversy calls for additional, long-period testing of the two possible assumptions behind the underlying mechanism of this model with multiple technologies. The aim of this paper is to present some results on entering and departing technologies, comparing the empirical implications and predictions on production allocation of the cultivation of wheat in 44 countries. In order to implement this analysis we are going to use the information available at the EXIOBASE for the year 2000 and the final demand from the World Input-Output database (WIOD) from 2000 to 2014.