<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The concept of smart specialization as a policy approach for regional development through increased regional productivity and competitiveness in the European context is actively discussed (European Union, 2009; OECD, 2014). Meanwhile, smart specialization has found its way into EU cohesion policy as well as into the European Commission’s Innovation Union flagship programme. In Eastern Europe, economic growth came to a sudden halt during the financial crisis in 2008/2009, leading to mass unemployment, economic decline and shrinking public spending. The economic downturn in Russia after 2008 was triggered by the outflow of capital and avoided large-scale social consequences. The paper highlights the main conceptual aspects of the smart specialization approach in the European Union and its implications on future EU Eastern Innovation cooperation with a special focus on EU’s largest Eastern partner Russia. </abstract>

The concept of smart specialization as a policy approach for regional development through increased regional productivity and competitiveness in the European context is actively discussed (European Union, 2009; OECD, 2014). Meanwhile, smart specialization has found its way into EU cohesion policy as well as into the European Commission’s Innovation Union flagship programme. In Eastern Europe, economic growth came to a sudden halt during the financial crisis in 2008/2009, leading to mass unemployment, economic decline and shrinking public spending. The economic downturn in Russia after 2008 was triggered by the outflow of capital and avoided large-scale social consequences. The paper highlights the main conceptual aspects of the smart specialization approach in the European Union and its implications on future EU Eastern Innovation cooperation with a special focus on EU’s largest Eastern partner Russia.

Smart Specialization and EU Eastern Innovation Cooperation: A Conceptual Approach

Department of Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology Akadeemia tee 3, Tallinn 12618, Estonia

TalTech Journal of European Studies

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The concept of smart specialization as a policy approach for regional development through increased regional productivity and competitiveness in the European...

Smart Specialization and EU Eastern Innovation Cooperation: A Conceptual Approach

Published Online: May 17, 2014

Page range: 3 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2014-0001

Keywords
EU Eastern cooperation, Innovation Policy, regional development, smart growth, smart specialization

© by Gunnar Prause

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Smart Specialization and EU Eastern Innovation Cooperation: A Conceptual Approach

Published Online: May 17, 2014

Page range: 3 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2014-0001

KeywordsEU Eastern cooperation, Innovation Policy, regional development, smart growth, smart specialization

© by Gunnar Prause

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
EU Eastern cooperation, Innovation Policy, regional development, smart growth, smart specialization