The competitiveness of the region Utrecht

Regija je dio homogene cjeline u okviru koje se odvijaju ekonomski i socijalni procesi, pod utjecajem regionalnih institucionalnih čimbenika. Uspješnom regionalnom politikom jača se razvojni potencijal lokalnih jedinca, potiče se razvitak i konkurentnost pojedinih regija, a samim time i nacionalni gospodarski rast i razvoj. Razlike u regionalnoj konkurentnosti prisutne su u svim državama članicama EU-a i zahtijevaju detaljniju analizu uzroka i posljedica navedenih razlika. Međutim, pri definiranju i mjerenju regionalne konkurentnosti prisutni su problemi, što je u radu detaljnije elaborirano prije same provedbe analize. Cilj rada je analizirati najkonkurentniju regiju EU, nizozemsku regiju Utrecht te istaknuti odrednice zbog kojih je ta regija najkonkurentnija prema posljednjim analizama regionalne konkurentnosti EU. Nakon teorijskog dijela o definiranju i mjerenju konkurentnosti, pobliže je analiziran indeks regionalne konkurentnosti EU, a zatim i razvojna obilježja te faktori konkurentnosti regije Utrecht. Regija se ističe prema uspješnom usklađivanju različitih odrednica konkurentnosti, zatim prema odrednicama visokog obrazovanja, tržišta rada, povoljnom položaju, pružanjem usluga ostalim nizozemskim regijama itd. Na kraju rada zasebno je obrađena inovacijska politika regije Utecht koja je značajna u budućem jačanju konkurentnosti i u uklanjanju ograničenja koja se pri tome javljaju.The region is a part of homogeneous, territorial area, where different economic and social processes take their places, influenced by institutional factors. Successful regional policy, strengthens the development potential of local units, encourages the development and competitiveness of regions, which has the implications on national economic growth and development. Regional competitiveness differences can be seen in all EU member states and require more detailed analysis of its causes and consequences. However, some problems are encountered in defining and measuring regional competitiveness, that are first elaborated in this work, before performing the analysis. The aim of the work is to analyze the most competitive EU region, the Dutch region Utrecht and to highlight the determinants which have contributed to its favourable position, according to the last available results of the systematic EU regional competitiveness measuring. After the theoretical part about the defining and measuring regional competitiveness, the EU regional competitiveness index was analyzed. More detailed analysis of the Utecht's development and competitiveness determinants was given. The region has succeeded to balance different competitiveness determinants, e.g. higher education, labor market, favorable geographic position, providing services to other Dutch regions, etc. In the end, separate chapter refers to innovation policy of the region Utrecth, which is important in future strengthening of the region's competitiveness potential and in reducing the obstacles that may appear in that process