Relación entre la competitividad y el desarrollo regional en Ecuador: una aplicación de modelos espaciales

Competitiveness plays a relevant role in understanding the development processes of countries, regions, cities or companies. The evidence shows that isolated investments do not necessarily lead to development, without requiring a set of natural or acquired endowments to enhance internal strengths. This research has two objectives. First, build a competitiveness index for the cantons of Ecuador. Second, examine the relationship between the competitiveness index and cantonal development. In order to meet the objectives, the methodology proposed by the World Economic Forum and spatial econometric models are used, respectively. The results show significant differences in the levels of cantonal competitiveness caused by differences in access to health, education, technology and institutional factors. In addition, we find that higher competitive rates positively influence local and territorial development. Our results offer new evidence on the importance of regional competitiveness for the design of public policies that promote the development of peripheral cantons.