Knowledge economy in central and eastern european countries – a route to competitiveness?

The paper deals with the state and development of knowledge economy in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and its contribution to national competitiveness. The main goal is to discuss whether a relationship between the level of knowledge economy and macroeconomic competitiveness can be found. This is evaluated and confi rmed by correlation between the Knowledge Economy Index and the Global Competitiveness Index among the EU member states. The same procedure of evaluation is conducted for Central and Eastern European member countries, confi rming the relationship, though giving a lower correlation coeffi cient. Considering the fact that the CEE region consists of less developed former socialist countries, the lower correlation coeffi cient might point out to a lower knowledge base of its macroeconomic competitiveness. A specifi c attention is paid to the three most developed knowledge economies in the CEE region – the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovenia. The case of Estonia, which has been a relatively poorer country, doubts the assumption that rich countries invest in the development of knowledge economy the most.