Science and Technology Parks (STPs) are one of the most important regional innovation policy initiatives. Previous studies show that location in a Park promotes cooperation for innovation but have not investigated if they help to achieve better results from cooperation. We extend previous literature by analyzing how STPs influence the results of cooperation of Park firms and how this influence is channelled. We rely on a much larger sample of firms and STPs than previous studies and account for selection bias and endogeneity when these problems arise.Results show that location in a STP increases the likelihood of cooperation for innovation and the intangible results from cooperation with the main innovation partner, mainly due to the higher diversity of the relationship.

Science and Technology Parks (STP) are one of the most important and extensive innovation policy initiatives introduced in recent years. This work evaluates the impact of STP on firm product innovation in the Spanish context. Spain is less developed than most of the advanced countries, and regional and national governments are prioritizing STP initiatives. The large firm sample for our study is from the Spanish Technological Innovation Survey, provided by the National Statistical Institute. We focus on average treatment effects for firms located in 22 Spanish STP. Our results show that Spanish STP have a strong and positive impact on the probability and amount of product innovation achieved by STP located firms. These results hold for different assumptions about the mechanisms underlying location in a STP.

This work will analyse the factors which influence decision-making within the Spanish public sector on the financing of precompetitive research projects developed by firms in collaboration with universities and public research organisms. With this objective in mind, an econometric model is proposed that explains simultaneously the concession of aid on behalf of the public sector and the amount of such aid. The estimates carried out indicate, among other results, that the destination of the budgeted funds explains a large part of the public financing received. However, all the evidence would seem to indicate that the funding has not been awarded either in order to significantly favour those firms which most need it, nor to give incentive to high levels of cooperation.

The aim of this work is to analyse the heterogeneous effect of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) on firms' innovation outcomes, contingent on firms' size and innovation effort. Despite the worldwide diffusion of STPs and the increasing literature aimed at analyzing their effect on tenants' performance, empirical evidence on the heterogeneous effect of STPs location on different firms is very scarce. We use information for a representative sample of 39,722 Spanish firms, 653 of them located on 22 of the 25 official Spanish STP. Results show, on the one hand, that firm size is negatively related to an STP location effect and, on the other, that only a small amount of internal innovation effort is required to achieve a very high return from park location.However, firms without innovation efforts do not benefit from a park location. Finally, as internal innovation efforts increase, the park effect reduces, but is still at a high level.

The aim of this paper is to assess the success of the Spanish technology policy instrument 'proyectos concertados' (co-operative projects which receive public financing) in the stimulation of co-operation between firms and public research centres (PRCs). The paper analyses the factors which explain the different impact of this aid in relation to: a) whether or not the public intervention has contributed to getting a project carried out co-operatively which would otherwise have been carried out by the firm alone; b) whether or not the firms which have carried out proyectos concertados intend to continue to co-operate with the participant PRCs. The information used corresponds to the opinion of the firm which undertakes the proyecto concertado. The authors are grateful to Olga Rodríguez and an anonymous referee for useful comments and suggestions. Information contained in this paper has been obtained thanks to the collaboration of the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI). This study has received financing from the National R&D Plan (Project SEC97-1331). T HE LACK OF INTERRELATION inSpain between the research conducted by firms and that which is carried out by public research centres (PRCs) has led to the integration in science and technology policies of instruments which facilitate the articulation of the science-technologyindustry system. This paper centres on the technology policy instrument proyectos concertados, which awards interest-free loans to precompetitive research projects carried out by firms with the participation of at least one PRC research team. The aim is to analyse the success of these projects in stimulating cooperation between firms and PRCs.Evidence is obtained as to the reasons which explain both that the proyecto concertado makes the firm co-operate with a PRC when it would otherwise have carried out the research alone, and that, after completing the proyecto concertado, the firm continues to collaborate with the participant PRC. To sum up, a study is made of the influence of public intervention on the generation of co-operation and its impact on the continuation of this co-operation. To be more specific, this paper revolves around the following two questions:· In the absence of public funding, would the firm have carried out the research project with the participation of the PRC? A negative response to this question would indicate that the proyecto concertado has generated co-operation. · Do those firms which have received funding intend to continue to collaborate with the PRCs which participated in the proyectos concertados? Affirmative responses indicate that collaboration will continue without public aid.