Radosevic, S; (2017) Assessing EU Smart Specialization Policy in a Comparative Perspective. In: Radosevic, S and Curaj, A and Gheorghiu, R and Andreescu, L and Wade, I, (eds.) Advances in the Theory and Practice of Smart Specialization. (pp. 1-36). Academic Press: London, UK.

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Abstract

The chapter positions EU smart specialization within the context of the six other newly emerged approaches to industrial and innovation policy. These approaches—binding constraints to growth, product space method, new structural economics, neo-Schumpeterian, Schumpeterian approach, and process (evolutionary) view—are briefly explained and comparatively analyzed. They all share the idea that the ultimate constraints to growth are unknown, and all try to address the issues related to the specialization choices, as well as the challenges of technology upgrading and innovation-based growth. They differ in their approach to the “discovery” of specializations and the role of policies in the implementation process. Within this context, EU smart specialization is defined as the EU’s version of a new industrial innovation policy. Its greatest challenges are predominantly R&D and high-tech orientation as opposed to alternative modes of technology upgrading; strong inward orientation and neglect of global value chains as a complementary mechanism of technology upgrading; neglect of institutional capacities for implementation of SS policies; and the implementation challenges, which stem from the clash between the experimental character of the SS approach and the administrative requirements of EU funding.

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