Policies for competitiveness in less-favoured regions of Europe: a comparison of Greece and Portugal

Abstract

Greece and Portugal are the weakest European economies. Their accession to the European Community provided a stimulus for policies to improve the competitiveness of their industries, in order to withstand competition within the Single Market. Support through Community regional development instruments was channelled to Greek and Portuguese science and technology, and industrial policies. The paper examines and compares the implementation of two sets of such policies: science and technology policy, and quality policy, highlighting issues and underlying factors involved in their success or failure.