Abstract. The paper addresses the issue of national and regional competitiveness in the context of socio-economic and financial crisis. Competitiveness is a complex concept which can be studied at both the firm and the local and national level.

Thus, in economic terms the competitiveness is most often associated with the productivity or efficiency with which inputs are transformed into goods and services. As for the regional competitiveness it should be analyzed in terms of results (revenue, employment) and in relation to its determinants: ranging from the classical production factors (capital, labour, technological progress) to the “soft” factors (human capital, research and development, dissemination of knowledge).

The current economic environment has revealed that countries such as China, India, Brazil and also the Czech Republic and Poland, following prudent economic policies, have managed to make from macroeconomic stability, investment in education and research some of their major drivers of economic growth.

Keywords: competitive advantage; competitiveness; labour productivity; economic growth; determinant factors.