Regional competitiveness combines sustained high-value economic activity with high levels of labour force participation. Much of the weak regional income performance is due to weaker productivity in the BMW region. An in-depth review of this data for the manufacturing sector is undertaken in the following section. Table 3.6 provides detailed data on the manufacturing sector in the two NUTS II regions based on the Census of Industrial Production. This data shows that the majority of manufacturing units in the country are situated in the S&E region and the S&E region scores better on productivity measures, such as ‘net output per person’ engaged.
| Table 3.6 Comparative Structure of Manufacturing Industry in the BMW Region | ||||
| Variables | Units | BMW | S&E | State |
| Number of Local Units | No. | 1,491 | 3,703 | 5,194 |
| Total persons engaged | No. | 61,184 | 166,118 | 227,302 |
| Gross output per local unit | €000 | 9,779 | 21,,665 | 18,253 |
| Net output per local unit | €000 | 5,340 | 13,520 | 11,215 |
| Gross output per person engaged | €000 | 238.3 | 482.9 | 4,171 |
| Net output per person engaged | €000 | 133.8 | 301.4 | 256.3 |
Source: Census of Industrial Production 2003
Table 3.7 gives a breakdown of 'net output per person engaged' in both NUTS II Regions for the different NACE (Note 24) sectors, which is the best available measure of productivity (Note 25). This data shows that the BMW region lags behind the S&E region in terms of productivity in the key manufacturing sectors. The one significant sector where this is not the case is 'food, beverages and alcohol', in which the BMW region has a productivity advantage over the S&E region.
This analysis indicates a significant productivity gap and the vulnerability of the industrial base to competitive pressures in the Region which requires a coherent policy response, which includes the proposed actions set out in this Operational Programme and those proposed under the enterprise, science and innovation investment priority of the NDP 2007-13.
| Table 3.7: Net Output per Person Engaged in the State, BMW and S&E Regions by Industry Class - 2003 (EUR 000) | |||
| NACE Sector | BMW |
S&E |
State |
| Chemicals, Chemical Products and Man-Made Fibres | 151.5 |
1,181.2 |
1,008.9 |
| Paper Products, Publishing Printing | 41.5 |
497.7 |
442.7 |
| Electrical and Optical Equipment | 102.7 |
247.8 |
205.1 |
| Food Products, Beverages and Alcohol | 310.9 |
143.1 |
191.6 |
| Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products | 99.5 |
83.4 |
88.7 |
| Machinery and Equipment | 59.2 |
67.0 |
64.4 |
| Rubber and Plastic Products | 58.8 |
59.5 |
59.2 |
| Wood and Wood Products | 64.7 |
54.3 |
59.0 |
| Other | 44.9 |
62.4 |
56.8 |
| Transport Equipment | 41.0 |
55.6 |
53.4 |
| Basic Metals and Fabricated Metal Products | 52.3 |
53.1 |
52.9 |
| Textiles and Textile Products | 45.0 |
39.9 |
41.7 |
Source: Census of Industrial Production 2003, CSO 2005
Note 24 Classification of economic activities by sector adopted by Eurostat
Note 25 Notwithstanding the utility of this measure of productivity, it distorts somewhat the true value of net output due to the transfer pricing activities of multi-national corporations.
