Mapping the Global Patterns of Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

On the basis of the Strategic Response released by the OECD and the Europe 2020 devised by the European Commission, this thesis develops a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth model. In the theoretical part the smartness, sustainability and inclusive capabilities of countries’ economies are identified as mutually interconnected and reinforcing priorities for development. The empirical analysis focuses on the recognition of the patterns of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and on the extent to which those patterns are actually based on the outsourcing of both positive and negative parts of production to other countries. In this context, also the structural bottlenecks affecting countries’ development have been identified: while developed countries present issues connected to the sustainability of their production systems, in developing countries the main bottlenecks to development are the smartness and the inclusiveness of their economic structures, as well as the quality of their export baskets.