Update Sept 2007

The complete competitiveness index report series is now available as a Free download from the Centre for International Competitiveness website at www.cforic.org

Press Release 4th September 2007

Researchers at the University of Sheffield and Aston Business School have found investment in Research and Development (R&D) is rapidly shifting from North America and Europe to Asia, resulting in a small elite club of regions, in both the advanced and developing world, that are dominating the global knowledge economy. In the new findings published today (date), the researchers found that companies in advanced regions such as Silicon Valley in the US, Cambridge in the UK, Ottawa in Canada and Helsinki in Finland, are increasingly establishing partnerships and networks with companies and universities in fast-developing Asian regions.

Read the full press release at the Centre for International Competitiveness website at www.cforic.org

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.
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This report represents the 2006 edition of the UK Competitiveness Index, which was first introduced and published in April 2000. For the first time, this year it is produced in conjunction with the Work Foundation. It represents the most up-to-date, thorough and authoritative benchmarking of the competitiveness of the UK’s regions and localities, as well as setting UK competitiveness within an international context.

The UK Competitiveness Index has been designed as an integrated measure of competitiveness focusing on both the development and sustainability of businesses and the economic welfare of individuals. In this report, we publish indices for 2006 (incorporating the most up-to-date data available), as well as those presented in the 2005 report as a means of comparison and examining the UK’s changing competitiveness landscape.
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The WKCI is an integrated and overall benchmark of the knowledge capacity, capability and sustainability of 125 regions across the globe, and the extent to which this knowledge is translated into economic value, and transferred into the wealth of the citizens of these regions, utilising 19 knowledge economy benchmarks, including employment levels in the knowledge economy, patent registrations, R&D investment by the private and public sector, education expenditure, information and communication technology infrastructure, and access to private equity. The WKCI is the only existing instrument that benchmarks such regional performance at a global level, with index comprising of 55 North American regions, 45 from Europe and 25 from Asia-Pacific.
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