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The ESPON 2013 Operational Programme
http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231-300x387.png 300 387 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231-546x704.png 546 704 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231-1250x1613.png 1250 1613 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231.png 2785 3594 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231-546x704.png 546 704 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231-1250x1613.png 1250 1613 http://mapfinder.espon.eu/mapfinder/wp-content/uploads/OMF03231.png 2785 3594 Technologically advanced regions in Europe, 2007

Technologically advanced regions in Europe, 2007

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  • The geography of advanced technology branches is highly concentrated in Europe although some peripheral regions, including regions with capital cities in the newer EU Member States, do play a major role
  • Specialisation in knowledge intensive services discloses an impressive territorial concentration in Europe
  • Moreover, specialisation in manufacturing high-tech seems to be more diffused across Europe than knowledge intensive services
  • Technologically advanced regions with high specialisation in both high-tech manufacturing and knowledge intensive services are mainly to be found in Scandinavia, but also in Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the UK
  • It is worth stressing the some countries do not have any particular specialisation

Observations for policy

The geography of advanced technology branches is highly concentrated in Europe, although some peripheral regions and regions with capital city regions in the EU12 do play a major role. Furthermore, there is a remarkable concentration of technology, either related to advanced manufacturing or services activities. While specialisation in manufacturing high-tech seems to be much more diffused, specialisation in knowledge intensive services displays impressive territorial concentration rates. It is finally worth stressing that some countries do not have any particular specialisation.

Policy context

Europe 2020 puts a strong focus on smart growth and thus on the knowledge economy and innovation. ESPON research shows that an appropriate translation of the objective of smart growth needs to build on a broader understanding of knowledge economy, including advanced producer services.

To better understand the territorial dimension of the knowledge economy one needs to go beyond the simplified ideas that (a) R&D is equal to knowledge, (b) knowledge economy is synonymous with science, and (c) R&D investments are the right and unique innovation policy measure to support a knowledge economy.

Map interpretation

The map shows the presence of high-tech services and high-tech manufacturing sectors. Technologically advanced regions are regions hosting these sectors at above European average. In total there are 63 technologically advanced regions within the territory covered by the ESPON 2013 Programme. The majority is located in Germany and the UK, smaller concentrations of these regions can be observed in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden. Few are further distributed across Europe. The distribution looks as follows:

  • 93 regions are performing as advanced services regions with above European average figures as regards the presence of advanced producer services and high-tech industries. They are to be found in the Nordic Countries, UK, Ireland, Benelux, France and some single regions, often capital regions, in other countries;
  • 58 advanced manufacturing regions are characterised by above European average figures as regards the presence of high-tech manufacturing. They are mainly to be found in Central and Eastern Europe, including regions in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, German, Austria, and Italy. There are also single regions in Bulgaria, Romania, France and Spain;
  • Finally, 69 low-tech regions without a specific knowledge economy profile. These regions are mainly to be toward the fringes of the European territory, e.g. in Portugal, Spain, Southern Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Concepts and methods

Technologically advanced regions are defined as those regions, which present simultaneous specialisation in both medium-high and high-tech manufacturing and knowledge intensive services. Deriving from this definition the indicators underlying the map are (a) specialisation in high-tech services, and (b) specialisation in high-tech manufacturing.


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