Seminar: Smart Specialization policy in the EU: the role of regional capabilities and inter-regional linkages

Regional capabilities are regarded a key pillar of Smart Specialization policy in the EU. Regions should build on existing capabilities to develop new activities (like new technologies and new industries), because they condition which new activities are feasible to develop in regions. This had motivated scholars to map diversification opportunities of regions and to formulate a Smart Specialization policy framework that is evidence-based. I will present studies on 292 European regions that assess diversification options of regions more in general, and their potential to participate in specific new activities (like Artificial Intelligence). I propose that regions should target and develop new activities that would involve less risks (because of higher relatedness with existing activities in the region) and generate potentially higher economic benefits (because of their higher complexity). I will also assess how inter-regional linkages may provide access to complementary capabilities that regions need in order to diversify. Finally, I propose a complementarity indicator that can be used by regions to identify regional partnerships, depending on the presence of complementary capabilities in other regions.