Germany has been an influential member state in the European Union, but how influential has Germany been in shaping EU-policies? What domestic policies did Germany upload to shape the EU-policies and what major EU policies did it download to shape domestic policies? This dissertation has researched Germany’s …

Does Northern Europe possess unique characteristics that cannot disappear and do not need to disappear, or will globalisation inevitably result in uniformity, divested businesses, lower wages and huge pressure on social security provisions? This is one of the main questions addressed by the authors. …

Clusters are the magic answer to regional economic development. Firms in clusters are more innovative; cluster policy dominates EU policy; ‘top-sectors’ and excellence are the choice of national policy makers; clusters are ‘in’. But, clusters are complex, clusters are ‘messy’; there is no clear logic …

The creative economy is considered to contribute to urban and regional development in several ways. In addition to the prevalent economic perspective on the creative sector as a generator of jobs and innovation, often it is also assumed to contribute to the regeneration of deprived neighbourhoods. Although …

With regard to the increasing global competition for highly-skilled labour, the group of mobile international students is becoming more and more prominent in the considerations of national policy-makers. One concrete idea is to develop policies in order to bind international students and foreign knowledge workers …

The Turkish Republic has a great history with major defeats and victories in its past. Since the fourteenth century Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire. During the following centuries, the Empire expanded and covered areas which are nowadays known as Europe, Asia and North Africa. The twentieth century …

Purpose - This paper provides an overview on the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) program components/mechanisms and their overall effect on learning outcomes in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach - Using secondary data, this descriptive case study integrates …

Between 2009 and 2013 a project has been executed in the Utrecht region to strengthen the workplace innovation capacity of SMEs (My Company 2.0). The participating companies were asked to fill in a questionnaire on the workplace innovation capacity of the company at two moments: at the beginning (T0) …

The European Social Fund, ESF, along with the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund is part of the European Structural Funds. These Funds are created to narrow the differences in living standards and prosperity throughout the European Union. Since 1957, the aim of the European Social …

Clusters are the magic answer to regional economic development. Firms in clusters are more innovative; cluster policy dominates EU policy; ‘top-sectors’ and excellence are the choice of national policy makers; clusters are ‘in’. But, clusters are complex, clusters are ‘messy’; there is no clear logic …