The yearly thorough State of the Region Report tracks he current economic climate, the state of collaboration, competitivenes and governance in the Baltic Sea region.
Economically, there are signs that the Baltic Sea Region is entering a ‘new normal’ of permanently lower growth rates. The Region remains the ‘Top of Europe’ and registers both prosperity growth and internal catch-up rates that outperform the rest of the EU. But growth has decelerated, and seems now insufficient to close the gap with leading economies elsewhere in the world.
What are some of the big trends that are going to affect the Region’s competitiveness in the coming years? The next phase of globalization will be one. Three different trends are likely to characterise this new phase: first, the weight of global economic activity will be shifting further towards Asia. Second, global trade will benefit less from falling trade barriers and transportation costs than it did in the past, and could enter a period of significantly lower growth. Third, the reorganisation of global value chains will continue, leading to more specialisation of locations around specific activities and functions. For the Baltic Sea Region, one of the prime beneficiaries of globalisation so far, these new trends pose a more complex set of challenges to address.
Authors of the report: Dr. Christian H.M. Ketels, Harvard Business School, Dr. Timo Summa, Aalto University School of Business and Chief Economist Helge Pedersen, European Banking Federation.
The State of the Region Report will be presented and debated at the 16th. Baltic Development Forum Summit and the European Commission´s 5th Annual Forum in Turku, Finland on 3rd June
Read the whole report here:
http://www.bsr2014.eu/wp-content/uploads/BDF_SORR_2014_web.pdf