Elements of Endogenous Development in the Regions of Visegrad Countries

Elements of Endogenous Development in the Abstract Understanding territorial processes has come to the focus of relevant enquiries in the past few decades but it is especially important in the case of less favoured areas. In this particular research project presented here, the major factors of endogenous development and their presence in the regions of Visegrad countries – Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary – have been investigated. The theory of endogenous development, namely the utilisation of the given resources, has become the focus of many empirical analyses and it means the framework of quantitative analysis. The main aim of the paper is the examination and explanation of the effects of each capital on development. A model is proposed that explains development and includes latent variables symbolising the forms of capital. The model then is further examined using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) path analysis. This shows and helps to understand the connections between the various forms of capital, although the model is only valid in a Visegrad context. The first part of the paper reviews the academic literature of development theories, and it outlines how the concept has been understood and developed in the last few decades. In the next chapter of the paper, the concept is examined from a narrower perspective and the focus is on the theory of endogenous development, which is assumed to be a qualitative change. Despite the fact that in this case it is very difficult to carry out quantitative analyses, they have an obvious relevance in regional research. Besides defining endogenous development, several models and capitals are compared in the paper. The compa rison shows the most important elements by the usage of which the development of the Visegrad regions becomes measurable. The methodology of the empirical test can be found in the next chapter, and it means that research questions were tried to be answered based on the latest statistical indicators, i.e., the Eurostat database and the national databases of the Visegrad countries. In the abovementioned countries 115 NUTS3 regions can be found, hence this array of territories serves as the framework for the quantitative analysis. The territorial units are compared to multivariate analysis, so the accumulation of various forms of capitals has been analysed by PLS path analysis. With the help of the method, a simultaneous factor and regression analysis is run, enabling the analysis of the direct and indirect effects among the latent variables. It helps to highlight the effects of capitals on each of these.