Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Akcomak, Semih
Author-Email: akcomak@merit.unu.edu 
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Ter Weel, Bas
Author-Email: b.terweel@merit.unimaas.nl
Author-Workplace-Name: UNU-MERIT
Title: How do social capital and government support affect innovation and growth? 
	 Evidence from the EU regional support programmes
Abstract: 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.
Classification-JEL: O1, O3, O52, Z13
Keywords: Social capital, Innovation, Economic growth, European Union, 
	 Structural funds
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 2007
Number: 009
File-URL: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2007/wp2007-009.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2007009