International Competitiveness
Information on the coursework
Semester 2, academic year 2008/2009
The coursework (about 10-15 pages) will be presented by selected group of students (max.
3 people in one group). Each group will present a report on the:
I) specific topic (from the list below), explained from theoretical perspective and in the
context of concrete experiences of foreign country or group of countries,
- Methodology and measures of international competitiveness
- Economic disparities: convergence and divergence of national and regional
economies
- Globalization and international competitiveness
- Endogenous factors of the competitiveness of the region/country
- Institutions and economic systems. Government efficiency, quality of institutions
and mechanisms
- National Innovation Systems. Innovation policy and performance.
- Determinants of technological competitiveness
- Processes of international technology transfer and diffusion of innovation
- Institutional infrastructure supporting innovation performance
- Networking and clusters of competitiveness
- Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Transnational Corporations. The impact on
host and home economies competitiveness and innovativeness. Company
competitiveness
- Human resources and knowledge
- Accumulated wealth and infrastructure
or:
II) international competitive position of selected foreign country from one of the following
regions:
- America like US, Mexico, Argentina,
- The European Union (e.g. the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden),
- non-EU European countries (e.g. Russia, Norway, Switzerland),
- East Asia (e.g. Japan, India, Malaysia).
The coursework on international competitive position of selected foreign country should
include most or all of the following elements:
" evaluation of selected country s competitive performance from a comparative
perspective (analysis of the region s prosperity measured by overall economic
performance, the level of GDP/GDP per capita, indicators concerning the level of
innovativeness and competitiveness, etc.)
" analysis of determinants of selected country s competitiveness
- assets - the availability of resources (labor, capital, technology and innovation) and
their allocation (productivity)
- institutions (contextual factors) - political and social factors, economic system (e.g.
level of economic freedom, quality of business environment, current economic
policy, etc)
" presentation of country s competitive position in external relations (regarding e.g.
trade flows and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI))
" evaluation of foundations of future country s competitiveness
- innovative capacity, entrepreneurship - can the country gain advantage in the
future?
- education, training and labor market efficiency - are inhabitants equipped to
prosper in the 21st century?
- energy - how the region will fuel future growth?
Special emphasis should be put on innovation system and performance of the selected country
since innovativeness is regarded as the key driver of competitiveness in global knowledge-
based economy (KBE).
Each topic will be prepared by selected group of students (max. 3 people in one group).
The groups should be selected before 3rd lecture (4.03.2009)  it is the deadline for submitting
the names of members of the group with the topic selected by the group.
The report should be submitted before the date of the lecture, together with the presentation
(preferably in Power Point), which will be presented during the lecture by the group of
students.
The Coursework will be assessed. The grade for the coursework counts for 20% of the overall
grade for this course.