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Smart Specialisation Strategies and Regional Convergence: Spanish Extremadura after a Period of Divergence

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  • Paulo Miguel Madeira

    (Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-189 Lisboa, Portugal
    Centro de Estudos Geográficos, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-276 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Mário Vale

    (Centro de Estudos Geográficos e Laboratório Associado TERRA, Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, Universidade de Lisboa, 1600-276 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Julián Mora-Aliseda

    (Departamento de Arte y Ciencias del Territorio, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain)

Abstract

Smart specialization strategies are a new EU approach to cohesion policy, meant to deliver growth and development at EU national and regional level. Bearing in mind its focus on place-based development strategies, this paper intends to shed some light on its appropriateness to tackle uneven development and regional growth divergence. The paper showcases Spanish Extremadura growth trajectory. Extremadura is a poor region in the European context that between 2008 and 2014 diverged from the EU average, despite being eligible for EU funding as a convergence region by cohesion policy. In the 2014–2020 programming period, there was a positive dynamic at the beginning, but from 2017 onwards convergence stopped, which indicates that thematic and regional programmes have not delivered results or have not compensated for higher growth level of other Spanish regions. Moreover, research and innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3) seem to have limited impacts on place-based economic transformation in less developed regions. From this example, the suitability of the smart specialisation strategy as the core of cohesion policy in the programming period is discussed. It concludes that this strategy is interesting for intermediate development regions with some industrial base but does not seem appropriate as a convergence driver for poorer regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Paulo Miguel Madeira & Mário Vale & Julián Mora-Aliseda, 2021. "Smart Specialisation Strategies and Regional Convergence: Spanish Extremadura after a Period of Divergence," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:9:y:2021:i:4:p:138-:d:644541
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaija Valdmaa & Rhiannon Pugh & Jaanus Müür, 2021. "Challenges with strategic placed-based innovation policy: implementation of smart specialization in Estonia and Wales," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 681-698, April.
    2. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Riccardo Crescenzi, 2008. "Mountains in a flat world: why proximity still matters for the location of economic activity," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(3), pages 371-388.
    3. Ian R Gordon, 2018. "In what sense left behind by globalisation? Looking for a less reductionist geography of the populist surge in Europe," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 11(1), pages 95-113.
    4. Philip McCann & Raquel Ortega-Argil�s, 2015. "Smart Specialization, Regional Growth and Applications to European Union Cohesion Policy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1291-1302, August.
    5. Costis Hadjimichalis & Ray Hudson, 2014. "Contemporary Crisis Across Europe and the Crisis of Regional Development Theories," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 208-218, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Angela Wigger, 2023. "The New EU Industrial Policy and Deepening Structural Asymmetries: Smart Specialisation Not So Smart," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 20-37, January.

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