How funds and commitment to innovation turn into wealth and educational growth? The Quality of Government effect in EU regions through time-varying conditional DEA

Since innovation represents the key of modern business, investments in innovation paths are critical to competitiveness. And, EU is on the high road to tackle what encompasses innovation, especially since the establishment of Smart Specialization Strategy (S3), an inclusive, shared and placed-based approach. However, one-size-doesn’t-fit-all, most likely because of the Quality of Government (QoG). In this light, the study aims at measuring efficiency, through a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) conditional to time and QoG, of the turning process of S3 funds, human resources in science and technology, expenditures on research and development into tertiary education and gross domestic product. By examining 230 EU regions in 2009-2018 period, between and within differences arise, especially in the case of less-scored QoG regions. Besides, changes are likely to be work-in-progress and require time. Insights on power of places in terms of hidden governmental aspects shaping the regional growth are meaningful. The role of government in resources’ optimization is suggested to be enhanced through educational projects, as well as via steps forward towards whistle-blowing. In this way, overall laxity and old mechanisms affecting citizens’ perception of their own government are likely to shrink.