International Journal of Competitiveness (4 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Competition, trade openness and economic growth: Time series evidence from Nigeria  
  by Umar Muhammad Bello, Theresa Onaji-Benson 
  Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship among competition, trade and economic growth in Nigeria over the period 1981 to 2015, using quarterly dataset, while controlling for financial development and institutions. Johansens cointegration approach and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) served as the methods of analyses. The results indicate that, in the absence of strong institutions, trade openness is more beneficial to growth than competition. While in the presence of strong institutions, competition is more beneficial to economic growth than trade openness. This suggests that within the Nigerian context competition and trade openness are substitutes for promoting economic growth.
  Keywords: Competition; Trade openness; Economic Growth; Cointegration; VECM.
  
  
• Development, competitiveness and institutional modernization: Towards a new approach to the Greek crisis  
  by Charalampos Vlados, Demosthenes Chatzinikolaou, Michail Demertzis 
  Abstract: The crisis of the Greek socioeconomic system has been unfolding for over a decade now. Many of its aspects have been highlighted and studied in the international literature, but, in most of these approaches, a lack of a complete, evolutionary perspective was not avoided. In this paper, we approach the Greek crisis and its evolution in the recent years by reviewing the relevant international literature and by proposing a theoretical re-focusing for a more effective, structural economic policy. In particular, we try to counter-propose a coherent examination of the mutually dependent aspects of the Greek crisis, by focusing on the synthesis of the dimensions of development, of competitiveness and of institutional modernisation of the Greek socioeconomic system, within the current restructuring phase of globalisation.
  Keywords: systemic socioeconomic crisis; Greek crisis; evolutionary economics and development; competitiveness; institutional modernisation; globalisation restructuring.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJC.2019.10021949
   
  
• Can the circular economy be transposed into the EU defence sector? The case of the Dutch Ministry of Defence and a roadmap  
  by Giorgos Dimitriou 
  Abstract: Policymakers and governments have a longstanding role in the economic stability, societal well-being, and security of a nation. With the adoption of multiple legislative measures since the 1990s, the EU has accepted greater responsibility in sustainability and resource productivity to its member states, beginning with the 1994 Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste to the energy and climate targets of Europe 2020. In November 2016, the EU Commission took another step forward with the European Defence Action Plan, which includes a provision to introduce and transpose circular economy principles into the defence sector. The circular economy is a resource-oriented economic model that, starting from the ideation stage, focuses on efficiency through restorative and regenerative design and structure. The objective of the circular economy is to keep products, components, and materials circulating in active production and consumption chains for as long as possible, thus preserving and extracting additional value by extending the life cycle of all material units, parts, and particles. rn
  Keywords: Defense; Competitiveness; Circular Economy.
  
  
• The National Competitiveness Indexes: what are they measuring, what should they do?  
  by Guilherme Amaral, Mario Salerno 
  Abstract: National Competitiveness often is a source of debates regarding its importance for strategic and policy analysis. Those who support the importance of this concept argue that it is based on concerns about the level and quality of jobs, quality of life, wages and revenues, technological development, among other pics regarded the dynamic of the economic development. The debate on the validity of the concept of competitiveness when applied to nations does not set off the development of a new set of metrics that would enable countries to assess the actors that induce competitiveness. To fill this gap, this article aims to present an alternative methodology for measuring national competitiveness. This methodology seeks to measure the drivers of competitiveness, which improve capabilities in a country. It is understood capabilities as the central element for developing countries seeking to foster the competitiveness of its economy.
  Keywords: National Competitiveness; Economic Development; Evolutionary Economic; Technological Capabilities.