The smart specialization concept was implemented in the EU in 2014, stating that regions have to specify specialization areas for development of innovations. Economic specialization reveals a comparative advantage in that field. However, there are different arguments linking specialization to economic development. This study analyzes these arguments and aims to investigate the impact of economic specialization on regional economic development and to give insights into identifying prospective areas in regional economies. A panel fixed effect estimation of industry-level regional data suggests that economic specialization in broader regional employment, called relative specialization, is ambiguously associated with economic development. Our findings suggest that neither economic specialization nor economic diversity are a clear-cut solution for ensuring economic growth. Economic structure in EU regions differs, and there is no one answer for which approach is better for economic development. Specialization measures, particularly the location quotient, cannot fully capture the dynamics in the industry structure that could be essential for formation of regional development strategy.

中文翻译：

---

经济专业化对欧盟区域经济发展的影响：智能专业化战略形成的见解

智能专业化概念已于2014年在欧盟实施，指出各个地区必须指定创新开发的专业化领域。经济专业化显示了该领域的相对优势。但是，有不同的论点将专业化与经济发展联系起来。这项研究分析了这些论点，旨在调查经济专业化对区域经济发展的影响，并为洞悉区域经济中的潜在领域提供见识。对行业水平区域数据的面板固定效应估计表明，更广泛的区域就业中的经济专业化（称为相对专业化）与经济发展之间存在歧义。我们的发现表明，经济专业化和经济多样性都不是确保经济增长的明确解决方案。欧盟地区的经济结构各不相同，没有人回答哪种方法更适合经济发展。专业化措施，特别是区位商，无法完全捕捉可能对形成区域发展战略至关重要的产业结构动态。