Romana Korez-Vide

Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth

In this chapter we explored country competitiveness and entrepreneurship as drivers of economic growth. The research was carried out on a sample of Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the European Union (EU). The analysis shows that economic growth as measured by GDP per capita growth rates, and global competitiveness of a country as measured by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index scores’ growth rates, are positively related to each other. The comparative analysis also reveals that efficiency-driven and certain transition CEE EU Member States have made the highest progress at various competitiveness pillars, which is reflected in their economic growth. The opposite has been found for two innovation-driven CEE EU Member States. When testing the hypothesis on the relationship between the average growth of quality of early-stage entrepreneurship indices and average growth of GDP per capita, no significant relationship was found. This finding is in accordance with the general thesis that entrepreneurial activity supports economic growth only as part of a favourable broader business environment. The research results constitute a preliminary analytical framework for policymakers and managers in the analysed countries.