＂In the global financial crisis, competitiveness gaps between euro area countries caused additional strain. This book discusses the various dimensions of competitiveness, with a special focus
on emerging Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries. For Europe to proceed with convergence and to resist global competitive pressures, it argues that policies to boost
productivity and innovation are vital. With products becoming ever more technically sophisticated and global interconnectedness on a relentless rise, it also demonstrates that quality, customer
orientation and participation in global production networks and global value chains are at least as important as relative costs and prices.＂--Provided by publisher.
