This book provides a basic yet rigorous understanding of the current issues and problems of economic integration and innovation in Europe, and argues that national or regional economic development depends mainly on technical change, social and human capital, and knowledge creation and diffusion.

The book examines the many aspects and consequences of the integration process that are obscure or as yet under-researched. The authors explore a wide range of topics, methodologies and perspectives in order to provide a stimulating and wide-ranging analysis.

The book will be of interest to students, economic theorists, empirical and social scientists, and policy makers as well as the informed general reader.

Contents
Contributors
Preface
PART I Innovation and the Knowledge-Based Economy
1. The innovation ecosystem
2. Patterns of innovation and the determinants of the diffusion process in selected EU member states
3. Building the innovation union: lessons from the 2008 financial crisis
PART П National and Regional Systems of Innovation
4. The European national and regional systems of innovation
5. European innovation policies from RIS to smart specialization: a policy assemblage perspective
PART in The Future of Innovation and Prospects for Socio-Economic Integration
6. Innovation diplomacy as driver of democracy, innovation and development: the case of Greece
7. Spatial knowledge spillovers within and between European regions: a meta-analysis
8. Innovation, efficiency and economic integration