Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 5 / 2013 (582)
Innovation: a path to competitiveness and economic growth. The case of CEE countries
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Robert BUMBAC
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Radu CIOBANU
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Abstract. Innovation is often considered to be a typical activity of the developed countries. If we put behind the leading excellence research institutions and the high educated specialists we can tell that innovation is, in the end, the attempt to create new or improved products or processes.
The aim of this study is to show the empirical evidence on the link between innovation and economic growth in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). Even if this part of Europe was highly affected by the economic crises, we consider that innovation can be the most important component of long-term economic growth. Our study considers a number of different proxies to measure innovation, such as R&D spending, patenting or the number of researchers as well as firms characteristics and mergers and acquisitions. Our findings are consistent with the existing literature that innovation makes significant contribution to national competitiveness and economic growth and the gap between the Western and Eastern economies can be reduced by investing in innovation.
Contents
Early warning models of financial distress. Case study of the Romanian firms listed on RASDAQ
Innovation: a path to competitiveness and economic growth. The case of CEE countries
Monetary autonomy under different exchange rate regimes in the long-run: the case of seven new EU countries
The future of marketing: an appropriate response to the environment changes
Education for sustainability – a prerequisite for post-crisis economic competitiveness with possible inference for Romania
A regional model for labour demand in Romania
Robustness of public choice models of voting behavior
The evolution of sovereign wealth funds and their influence in the global economy. The case of China
How does the labour’s market dynamic influence the level of the public pension in Romania in the actual economic context?
The customers borrowing behavior during the financial crisis
Foreign direct investment and economic growth in Romania
The image of the economic institutions in the context of global economy