CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Magvasi, Michelle |
|---|---|
| Title | Regional competitive disparities across the Visegrad Four: does culture make a difference? |
| Summary | Purpose – This thesis aims to uncover whether cultural differences impact regional innovative outcomes across the Visegrad Four group (V4) constituted by Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Hypothesis – Based on differences in historical experiences, the divergent paths of contemporary democratic development, and cultural indices by Hofstede and Inglehart, the countries are separated into groups of (1) Czechia and Slovakia, and (2) Hungary and Poland, with the assumption that culture in the first group is better able to facilitate regional innovation than the other. Methodology – The study employs a quasi-experimental design, allowing to associate differences across the two groups with cultural differences. It uses regression analysis to examine correlations between the enablers (human capital, market size, governance) and outcomes of innovation (number of patent applications) in the period 2000-2018. Findings – On average, the correlations are stronger in Czechia and Slovakia as a group, individually, as well as in their lowest-income regions than in Hungary and Poland, suggesting that cultural differences matter for innovation. Originality/val ue – (I) The study investigates the relationship between culture and innovation on a regional level, (II) across V4 countries, (III) offering a long-term perspective on innovative development as a function of culture. |
| Supervisor | Andrew Cartwright (CEU), Adam Holesch (IBEI) |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/magvasi_michelle.pdf |
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