Technological diversification through global value chains in European regions

This paper studies technological diversification in European regions incorporating global value chain participation as interregional linkages. The empirical analysis is developed for 243 NUTS-2 European regions between 2000-2010. Results show that, while regional capabilities remain crucial, global value chain participation matters for technological diversification. Particularly, backward participation in global value chains increases the chances of regions to trigger technological diversification. Forward participation in global value chains only increases the likelihood of technological diversification when combined with regional capabilities. Finally, global value chain participation is found to be more relevant for transition regions rather than for less and more developed regions.