A Preliminary Analysis of the Relationship between Economic Growth and Selected Innovativeness Indicators on the Example of Four European Union Countries

Purpose: The article aimed to determine the general relationships between economic growth and development and selected innovativeness indicators in two countries belonging to the leaders of innovativeness in comparison with two countries of Central and Eastern Europe representing moderate innovators. Design/Methodology/Approach: Cluster analysis (agglomeration method), elements of descriptive statistics, correlation calculus, and the ADF test were used to study the stationarity of the variables initially. Findings: The results have shown that the analyzed innovativeness indicators have fluctuated to varying degrees, although in many cases, Poland and Hungary demonstrated high rates of growth, which could suggest a catching-up effect. Although the correlation coefficients between the levels of economic growth and development and the analyzed innovativeness variables were in many cases significant (usually positive), stationarity tests showed that the variables are in the vast majority non-stationary, which is a reason for further research when trying to build an econometric model. Practical Implications: A general analysis of the data indicated that the following stages of the study would require an expansion to include a cointegration account and determine the interrelationship of variables in both the short and long term, using autoregressive models. Originality/Value: Preliminary analysis of economic growth factors using descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients for selected countries (Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary) based on available source data from OECD.