As emphasised in the beginning, the considerations presented here are very preliminary by nature. Nevertheless, some of the aspects discussed seem worth summarising. First, financial markets worldwide show a tendency of asymmetric regional "clustering" with newly emerging places challenging the...

1. Introduction -- 2. Regional competitiveness -- 3. World Competitiveness Index of Regions -- 4. Regional competitiveness and economic development -- 5. Regional competitiveness and stages of development -- 6. Regional evolution and waves of growth -- 7. The competitiveness of European regions...