Digital technology and innovation trajectories in the Mediterranean region: A casualty of or an antidote to the economic crisis?

Abstract

Weak macroeconomic conditions mean admittedly that government spending on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is reduced and consequently that ICT-related policies are scrutinized for their necessity, efficiency and impact on growth. At the same time, such conditions bring into the spotlight and set priority to measures targeting the ICT sector and promoting ICT-based innovation as a means of pursuing economic recovery. The 2008 financial crisis affected severely several parts of the world and particularly the Mediterranean region, where, even today, several years after the start of this economic turmoil in Europe, finding an effective response to mitigating the consequences of recession is still pertinent. Building on previous literature that recognizes ICT-based innovation as a crisis mitigation enabler, this paper propels discussion on the association among ICT- and innovation-oriented indicators and the economic crisis context in four Mediterranean countries, namely Spain, Greece, Italy and Cyprus. In this respect, it leverages a set of open and credible indicators of both technological and economic character and attempts to reflect on the effects of the crisis on ICT or conversely seen the potential of the latter to enable the affected countries to come out of the crisis.