Europe faces a digital dilemma. New digital technologies can help Europe become more competitive. However, while some of these new technologies create or expand access to markets for smaller firms and in lagging regions, others can create challenges for European convergence if they concentrate economic activity in large firms and leading regions.
The European Commission is supporting cutting-edge research in the technological areas that characterise it, with the objectives of promoting excellence but also reducing regional research and innovation disparities. Yet, little is known about the capacity of European countries and regions to adapt to Industry 4.0 by developing and integrating different enabling technologies.

REID co-authored, along with two Italian colleagues, a key input paper to a major World Bank report on this topic. The paper provides an analysis of the geography of knowledge production in Europe and investigates the comparative advantages of countries and regions as well as their technological specialisation. An emphasis was given to the identification of the factors that are typically associated with the regional capacity to integrate Industry 4.0 enabling technologies and the centrality of regions in European research networks.