Competitiveness and Regional Development in Greece

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the factors that influence the increase of GDP in the Greek regions. The paper examines the effect that six basic groups of variables have on the structure of GDP. Using factor analysis, the large number of variables decreases significantly, at the same time the descriptive ability of the formulated models increases considerably. Each Greek region is examined separately in order to find the specific factors that influence its com-petitiveness. The findings suggest that research and development plays an important role on the growth of GDP in all regions. In total, the factors that influence regional competitiveness are found to be regional infrastructure, human re- sources, production environment, knowledge capital and the ability for innovative activity.