Methodological difficulties of regional competitiveness evaluation

by Vladimír ŽÍTEK , Viktorie KLÍMOVÁ , Lenka HORKÁ

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JEL classification

  • Economic Methodology
  • Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
  • Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity

Keywords

Competitiveness, evaluation, composite index, methodology modification, NUTS 2

Abstract

The term competitiveness serves as the success criterion of firms, states and regions, and is more and more often the subject of evaluation. The key issue is how to measure it and how changes in methods influence results. The methodology designed in the article is based on calculation of a composite index which is applied to NUTS 2 regions. The main objective of the article is to demonstrate how specific methodology modifications, changes in the weights of individual indicators or the removal of some indicators can all influence the final evaluation. Based on the implementation of the original methodology and the revised methodologies, the particular quantifiable differences can be demonstrated, and also general conclusions can be formulated. The biggest fluctuations were identified in regions with imbalanced values of indicators. The evaluation of the most developed regions is significantly weakened by the real GDP growth indicator. It was also shown that certain regional groups responded identically to the changed parameters (e.g. advanced regions of Western Europe, advanced regions of East-Central Europe, and the least advanced regions of East-Central Europe).