Common trajectories of regional development in the knowledge economy: a European investigation

The paper analyses a group of European regions which in the last decade have gone through a process of economic renewal leading to a significant improvement of their competitiveness, with the aim of highlighting their driving factors of development: Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cambridge (UK). Based on the above analysis, we identify a number of determinants of regional growth and propose a taxonomy of trajectories of regional development: (i) Nokia economies, (ii) knowledge creation upon invitation and (iii) Cambridge way. The Nokia economies trajectory explains the development model of Finland and Sweden, recently emerged as two of the most flourishing, dynamic and competitive OECD countries by virtue of globally competitive ICT sectors. The knowledge creation upon invitation trajectory suits the development path of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, able to attract substantial overseas investments in knowledge intensive sectors thanks to the key role played by regional development agencies in formulating policies of FDI promotion and regional competitiveness. Finally, the Cambridge way trajectory fits the regional growth model of a cluster of relatively small high tech firms mushroomed since the 1980s around the British university town of Cambridge