Smart Economic Development in European Countries

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is a set of digital and physical technologies and cyberphysical systems that create new values at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. It is causing significant changes and developments in the industrial sector worldwide. This research aims to determine the impact of Industry 4.0 on socio-economic development by establishing the correlation between Industry 4.0 Index and the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI). Following the correlation analysis, country clusters will be formed based on the implementation of I4.0 and socio-economic development. There is a strong correlation between the implementation of Industry 4.0 and socio-economic development at the European level, while all countries can be placed within three significant clusters. This paper confirms the positive impact of Industry 4.0 on socio-economic development. It also provides institutional and business stakeholders with an objective incentive to implement the core I4.0 technologies faster.

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