INNOVATION AS A GENERATOR OF NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Innovation is perceived as one of the most relevant factors that influences competitiveness. National competitiveness is often associated to economic growth and is usually linked to productivity. The current research is focused on the connection between innovation and competitiveness and its intensity is tested through econometric analyses. The goal of the paper is to assess the impact of the innovation's determinants on the national competitiveness of the 28 Member States of the European Union. Consequently, the dimensions of the Innovation Union Scoreboard, and their corresponding indicators are tested in relation to the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). "Human resources" and "intellectual assets" determinants are validated as having a positive impact on GCI. In terms of indicators, the population aged 30-34 having completed tertiary education, the patent applications and the community trademarks are the determinants with positive impact on national competitiveness in EU. The paper ends with several recommendations for the stakeholders to increase national competitiveness in EU by various ways of stimulating the validated determinants of innovation.