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The paper focuses on quantitative assessment of the innovation's role in explaining regional disparities and convergence in Europe. The empirical part of the study bases on the regional GDP pc and innovation indicators on the EU-27 NUTS2 level regions. Based on the selected set of initial regional innovation indicators and using the principal components factor analysis method, three composite indicators of regional innovation capacity are extracted. Estimating convergence equations, we noticed that regional innovations tend to increase inter-regional differences, at least during the short-run period. Thus, if regional income convergence is a policy target, additional policy measures beside innovation activities should be effectively implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper follows an argument that the key elements of global competition are no longer trade of goods and services and flows of capital, but the competition for people. We claim that economic growth is driven by educated and innovative people, who prefer to live and migrate to countries that are diverse, tolerant and open to newcomers. Countries should compete for educated and diverse people and therefore a positive attitude to migration is an important argument for future economic growth. We analysed peoples' attitudes to migration in 23 European countries based on the micro-data of the European Social Survey fourth round database. The outcomes of the empirical analysis show that European peoples' attitudes toward immigrants vary depending on 1) personal characteristics of the respondents; 2) country's characteristics; 3) peoples' attitudes towards countries' institutions. The results of the study provide empirical evidence based grounds for development of policy measures for improving peoples' attitudes to immigration and to ethnically diverse human capital that support future economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an empirical examination of the development and determinants of the liquidity position in the financial sector during the past financial crises in the Baltic-Scandinavian region. We look at fiscal and monetary policy implications of the liquidity problems arising in the crisis, using panel data from Datastream and IFS data collection. The results are consistent with the theoretical predictions for a small open economy with the expected sign of changes and developments in common economic indicators. The main finding is that the changes (and the speed of changes) of interest rates, GDP and money supply have occurred relatively fast, meaning that the rising area of the LM-curve has been shorter than theory would predict. Market reactions took place quickly and relatively simultaneously - there was no time for the slow restructuring, thus liquidity needs were higher than generally. The impact of crises on the liquidity position of the financial sector is also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]