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“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.

Our paper studies a central issue with a long history in economics: the relationship between population and economic growth. We analyze the joint dynamics of economic and demographic growth in 111 countries during the period 1960–2019.

Using the concept of economic regime, the paper introduces the notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a minimal spanning tree (MST) and a hierarchical tree (HT) are constructed to detect groups of countries sharing similar dynamic performance.

The methodology confirms the existence of three country clubs, each of which exhibits a different dynamic behavior pattern. The analysis also shows that the clusters clearly differ with respect to the evolution of other fundamental variables not previously considered [gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, human capital and life expectancy, among others].

Our results indirectly suggest the existence of dynamic interdependence in the trajectories of economic growth and population change between countries. It also provides evidence against single-model approaches to explain the interdependence between demographic change and economic growth.

We introduce a methodology that allows for a model-free topological and hierarchical description of the interplay between economic growth and population.

Purpose: This research delves into the nuanced interrelations between economic globalisation, European integration, and labour market dynamics, specifically focussing on understanding how trade and financial globalisation impact economic growth and the stability of the European Union (EU) labour markets. The aim is to emphasise the multidimensional effects of globalisation and European integration within this context.

Need for study: This research responds to the critical need for an in-depth analysis of these dynamics of globalisation, providing essential insights for informed economic and policy decision-making at the level of the EU in a globalised landscape.

Methodology: This research employs a systematic review and bibliometric analysis to examine a broad range of literature from 1990 to 2023. Analysing over 1,000 academic articles to identify trends in discussions on European integration and globalisation using the VOSviewer tool assesses the relationship between globalisation, European integration, and labour market performance in EU countries using statistical data provided by Eurostat.

Findings: European integration and globalisation continue to open avenues for economic growth while concurrently exposing economies to various risks, including economic instability and wage disparities. Financial globalisation emerges as a dual-edged credential, amplifying global financial risks and influencing income redistribution patterns.

Practical implications: The study emphasises the need for well-crafted policies to address labour market challenges in EU-13 countries. Policymakers should prioritise investment in education, skills training, entrepreneurship, innovation ecosystems, and workforce adaptability. Regional cooperation is also advised to leverage collective strengths, share best practices, and foster solidarity among EU-13 member states.

This study investigates (1) the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on total factor productivity (TFP) and economic growth dynamics and (2) the relevance of value added from three economic sectors in modulating the established effect of FDI on TFP and economic growth dynamics.

The geographical and temporal scopes are respectively 25 Sub-Saharan African countries and the period 1980–2014. The empirical evidence is based on non-interactive and interactive generalised method of moments.

The following main findings are established. First, FDI has a positive effect on gross domestic product (GDP) growth, GDP per capita and welfare real TFP. Second, the effect of FDI is negative on real GDP and TFP while the impact is insignificant on real TFP growth and welfare TFP. Third, values added to the three economic sectors largely modulate FDI to produce negative net effects on TFP and growth dynamics.

Policy implications are discussed with particular emphasis on the need to complement added value across various economic sectors in order to leverage on the benefits of FDI in TFP and economic growth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess how value added from various economic sectors affect the relevance of FDI on macroeconomic outcomes.

This study aims to systematically review the economic complexity literature to advance the knowledge on its contribution to building regional competitiveness.

In this study, we did a systematic review of 111 relevant papers. In this regard, we did a thematic analysis on all the collected papers, which led to a two-level processed approach. In the first level, the contributions of the reviewed articles have been classified into three main streams. In the second level, the findings under each contribution category are analyzed and explained. This approach led to a thematic network demonstrating economic complexity and the dynamics of regional competitiveness and a set of managerial and policy implications. We followed a multiple processed approach for the systematic review of 95 papers that reveals considerable contributions in three categories, including measurement techniques, criticisms and exploratory studies.

Despite some critiques and the undertaken evolution in measurement techniques of complexity, economic complexity has become a well-known method mainly for regions' competitiveness dynamics. Our review demonstrates a nested network of economic complexity dynamics that drives policy advice concerning countries' status in their development path. The provided set of policies includes guidelines for underdeveloped and developing countries and general policy implications, applicable for all regional contexts for building competitiveness dynamics.

This research contributes to the literature on competitiveness from the window of economic complexity. The study allows a deep understanding of regions' productive structure role in their development and competitiveness. A set of policies for building regional competitiveness is provided concerning the study's findings. The literature gaps are identified, and future research ideas are provided for using economic complexity methodologically and logically to boost regional competitiveness.

To overcome the errors of the exogenous growth theories of the past, the new growth theories, currently in vogue, attempt to incorporate technological change as endogenous to the growth process. While making a commendable effort to see into that black box of technological change, these so‐called new growth theories are also subject to question and critique on a variety of grounds. One of these is that the new growth theories are not really that new. Another area of concern relates to their empirical relevancy. This is especially evident in assessing the practical use of the new growth theories in terms of problem identification and policy resolution. Other problem areas relate to issues of conceptual clarity and underlying assumptions. By assuming the process of economic growth to be synonymous with that of economic development the result is to avoid the prerequisite structural transformation inherent in the dynamics of culture evolution. Culture evolution in turn is predicated upon technological advance conceptualized as both material and social technology. It is argued in this paper that an explanation as to why technology is endogenous to the processes of growth and economic development is best served vis‐à‐vis an analysis of the dynamics of culture evolution.

This study aims to empirically examine how economic policy uncertainty emanating from three major global economic blocks (the US, the Chinese and the European Union) and volatility in global oil prices influence international trade.

The study uses quarterly data spanning the period between 1995 and 2014 in an autoregressive distributed lag framework.

This study finds that economic policy uncertainty conditions associated with the US and the Chinese economies tend to have significant negative or constraining impact on key components of international trade. Further analysis suggests that between the two leading economies (the US and the Chinese economies), economic policy uncertainty emanating from the US economy tend to have much more constraining impact on dynamics of international trade than the Chinese economy all things being equal.

This study’s findings carry significant strategic planning and policy implications for international trade dependent firms or corporations and economies. For instance, for multi-national corporations or firms whose products and services depend heavily on cross-border trade, understanding and taking into consideration prevailing economic policy dynamics emanating from the US and the Chinese economies in product and services demand forecast, and other strategic moves could be critical in minimizing potential adverse effects on projected performance or growth targets.

The uniqueness of this study’s approach stems from its assessment of how perception of uncertainty among economic agents about economic policies originating from three noted global economic blocks impacts international trade. In other words, instead of traditional factors or conditions surmised to influence variability in trend associated with international trade found in related studies, this study rather examines how perceptions of uncertainty about prevailing or yet to be enacted economic policy within specific global economic block impacts international trade.