How 'Provincial' is your Region? Openness and Regional Performance in Europe

Alfonso Gambardella (1) , Myriam Mariani (2) , Salvatore Torrisi (3)

1 Department of Management & Cespri
2 Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management & Cespri
3 Department of Management

By employing 1995-2000 data on European regions we construct an index of regional openness based on the share of hotels on population and the share of population that speaks a second language. This index has an impact on regional performance after controlling for technological capabilities, agglomeration economies, and other factors. Apart from a direct effect of openness, we find an indirect effect coming through patents. This suggests that open regions tap into wider knowledge networks that then affect performance. From a policy perspective, making a region less “provincial” can be as important as investments in local infrastructures and networks.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Alfonso Gambardella, Myriam Mariani, Salvatore Torrisi. How 'Provincial' is your Region? Openness and Regional Performance in Europe. Regional Studies, 2009, 43 (07), pp.935-947. ⟨10.1080/00343400801932268⟩. ⟨hal-00516197⟩