Relatedness, diversification and economic performance at the regional level: differences between advantaged and less favoured regions
Chapter 12, "Relatedness, diversification and economic performance at the regional level: differences between advantaged and less favoured regions" (Johanna Vogel and Stefan Weingärtner) examines empirically the effect of regional diversification patterns on economic performance in relation to the regional level of economic development in the European Union. It does so using data for a panel of EU regions covering the period from 2008 to 2011. The aim is to investigate whether "related" and "unrelated" diversification (variety) affect economically advantaged and less favoured regions differently, and thus to provide insights for the EU's smart specialisation approach to cohesion policy. The findings highlight the growth-enhancing impact of diversification into unrelated areas of activity in production and knowledge (unrelated variety) for economically less favoured regions.