How do social capital and government support affect innovation and growth? Evidence from the EU regional support programmes
Semih Akçomak & Bas ter Weel
#2007-009
This research investigates the role of social capital and government
intervention in explaining the differences of innovation output and
economic growth for regions of the European Union from 1990-2002. Using
several measures of social capital and innovation, and the European
Union’s Objective 1, 2 and 5b figures for EU regional support, the
estimates suggest that EU funding is not significantly contributing to
economic outcomes, while social capital is. Investigation of a possible
complementary relationship between social capital and government support
reveals that regions with higher levels of social capital are more
likely to effectively gain from EU regional support programmes. This
result implies that aside from the benefits associated with the direct
effect of social capital on economic outcomes, social capital appears to
be a critical prerequisite for the effective implementation of
government programmes. From a policy perspective, it appears to be
important to stimulate education to foster human capital formation. When
combined, human capital and social capital are likely to yield stronger
effects for effective policies which increase economic outcomes.
JEL classification: O1; O3; O52; Z13
Key words: Social capital; Innovation; Economic growth; European Union,
Structural funds
UNU-MERIT Working Papers ISSN 1871-9872