Presentation by James Wilson, Research Director, Orkestra, Basque Institute for Competitiveness, Spain at the 21st OECD Spatial Productivity Lab meeting on "Rebooting regional productivity: from analysis to policy", held in virtual format on 18 October 2023. This webinar focused on recent initiatives from the Basque Country in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Trentino in Italy, where the analysis of subnational economic data is used to compare productivity performance across regions, understand which economic and social factors drive regional productivity, and how regional productivity links to other economic and social outcomes. More OECD information: https://oe.cd/SPL Visit our website: www.oecd.org/cfe Follow us on Twitter: @OECD_local

1. Competitiveness for Wellbeing
Regional analysis supporting policy in the Basque Country
James Wilson
Rebooting regional productivity: From analysis to policy
OECD Spatial Productivity Lab WEBINAR, 18th October 2023

2. 2
Policy-oriented analysis of regional competitiveness
Orkestra has an explicit mission to conduct research on territorial competitiveness that can be
actioned to improve wellbeing of people in the Basque Country
www.orkestra.deusto.es/en/about-orkestra/the-basque-case
Two key ‘umbrella tools’
• Online data observatory
• Annual competitiveness report

3. Theoretical influences
A ‘competitiveness for wellbeing’ framework
Sustainable development
& wellbeing
‘Beyond GDP’ (Stiglitz et al.) &
related initiatives such as
QoL measurement, Better
Life Initiative & Agenda
2030 (Eurostat, OECD, United
Nations)
Innovation, institutions &
territorial strategies
Evolution of innovation theories
& policies (Cooke & Morgan, Foray,
Schot & Stienmueller, Weber) &
emphasis on institutions and
strategies in evolutionary
economic geography (Aranguren et
al, Gertler, Foray, Rodriguez-Posé)
Growth &
competitiveness
Growth theories
(Solow, Swan, Romer,
Lucas) & territorial
competitiveness
frameworks (OECD,
Porter, WEF), including
‘regional turn’
(Huggins & Davies,
Annoni & Dijkstra)
New directions in
competitiveness
Existing attempts to move
beyond a purely economic
focus (Aiginger, Branston et al,
Huggins & Thompson, Firgo &
Aiginger, Porter et al, Wilson)

4. Orkestra Competitiveness for Wellbeing Framework
3 core functions
• Diagnostic
• Reflection-action
• Research

5. 5
Preliminary findings from 2023 Competitiveness Report
Example: Analysis of results (1)
País Vasco; 73.25
España; 58.81
Alemania; 76.97
UE27; 66.51
Baden-Wurtemberg; 77.82
Alta Austria; 79.74
40.00
45.00
50.00
55.00
60.00
65.00
70.00
75.00
80.00
85.00
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
miles
euros
/
persona
Año
Productividad aparente de trabajo - Total de la economía
Personas Ocupadas
• Labour productivity
analysed as one of
18 indicators
reflecting
economic-business
performance …
• … and alongside
another 18
indicators reflecting
wellbeing
performance
• Enables a holistic
understanding of
what is happening

6. 6
Key findings from 2022 Basque Country Competitiveness Report
Example: Analysis of results (2)
Good performance in wellbeing
indicators related to learning
and environment
Weaker performance in
economic dimensions of
wellbeing
Indicator Tendency
Position with respect to EU
Level Change
Higher secondary or
tertiary education (%) → - +
Lifelong learning (%) → + +
Greenhouse gas
emissions (tonnes of CO2
per capita)
→ - +
Urban recycling rate (%) → - +
Indicator Tendency
Position with respect to EU
Level Change
Equivalent median
household income ← + -
Population living in
housing with
deficiencies
← - +
Unemployment rate ← - -
Improvements in GDP per
capita, business profitability
and exports
Innovation and
entrepreneurship indicators
static or declining

7. 7
Example: Analysis of structural context
2012-2014 y 2017-2019
Sustained complexity in manufacturing industry
Loss in complexity in the economy as a whole
• Strongly ageing population
• Signs of shifting values/attitudes among younger generations
• Shifting patterns of economic specialization & economic complexity
Key findings from 2022 Basque Country Competitiveness Report

8. 8
Example: Analysis of competitiveness levers
Comparative quality of Basque Country
scientific publications by SDG
Preliminary findings on ‘green knowledge’ from 2023 Competitiveness Report
SDG_01
SDG_02
SDG_03
SDG_04
SDG_05
SDG_06
SDG_07
SDG_08
SDG_09
SDG_10
SDG_11
SDG_12
SDG_13
SDG_14
SDG_15
SDG_16
Media ES21 = 1
EU27 = 1
Calidad media CAPV s/ UE-27
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Calidad
respecto
a
UE-27
Calidad local (CAPV)
• Injecting directionality into standard
analysis of knowledge as a driver of
competitiveness
• Knowledge inputs and outputs analysed
from an environmental sustainability
perspective
• Thematic focus of business R&D spending
• Thematic focus of regional R&D funding
programmes
• Thematic evolution of Horizon 2020 / Europe
funds captured
• Green patents
• Scientific publications related to 17 SDGs
• Enables a nuanced understanding of
positioning and gaps

9. 9
A living and evolving framework …
We continue to experiment with the framework in various ways and expect it to evolve
and improve as a reference point for our research at Orkestra …
✓ Framing analysis for Basque Country Competitiveness Reports: Next year we will
explore the transversal dimension of inclusiveness (gender)
✓ Guiding dialogue with policy-makers around the directionality of Basque
competitiveness over the next 20 years (Euskadi 2040)
✓ Supporting reflections on drivers of competitiveness at sub-regional levels (e.g.
city-level analysis)
✓ Framing research on specific competitiveness levers in collaborative projects
with many stakeholders (e.g. skills, decarbonisation, finance, social capital …)
✓ Guiding the development of training programmes to build policy capacities
around a common language of competitiveness for wellbeing