Determinants and spatial dependence of innovation in Brazilian regions: evidence from a Spatial Tobit Model

Abstract

This paper analyses the spatial patterns and spatial interdependencies of innovation and the role that local determinants of innovation play in Brazilian micro-regions. Specifically, it evaluates how local firms’ R&D, regional academic research, agglomeration level and local industrial specialization or diversification affect regional innovation. To analyse these factors, an empirical model based on the Knowledge Production Function (KPF) is estimated using a Spatial Autoregressive Tobit (SAR-Tobit) with Brazilian patent data. The results indicate that higher levels of regional industrial R&D imply greater innovation and that greater university research at a regional level positively impacts industrial innovation. Moreover, agglomerated and diverse regions present better innovative performance. Regarding spatial dynamics, the proximity of the most innovative microregions positively affects local innovation, which shows the existence of interregional knowledge spillovers that are associated with innovative activities.

Knowledge diffusion channels in Brazil: The effect of inventor mobility and inventive collaboration on regional invention

“…The direct effects of university R&D ( lnR&Dun ) are positive and significant, indicating the importance of local university research for the production of innovations in the same region, a result also verified by Gonçalves and Almeida (2009), Gonçalves and Fajardo (2011) and Araujo and Garcia (2019). The indirect effects are also positive and significant indicating that an increase in university R&D in other regions also affects local innovation because of interregional concrete interactions by means of co‐invention and inventor mobility.…”

“…Therefore, this result indicates that even though networks and mobility enable tacit knowledge to be transferred from one Brazilian region to another, the internalization of external knowledge through these channels is impaired by a weak absorption capacity, preventing them from being even more important to local invention. The direct effects of university R&D (lnR&Dun) are positive and significant, indicating the importance of local university research for the production of innovations in the same region, a result also verified by Gonçalves and Almeida (2009), Gonçalves and Fajardo (2011) and Araujo and Garcia (2019). The indirect effects are also positive and significant indicating that an increase in university R&D in other regions also affects local innovation because of interregional concrete interactions by means of co-invention and inventor mobility.…”

“…The spatial lag of the dependent variable is positive and significant for both types of spatial weights considered in the robustness analysis. This indicates that there are spatial spillovers or market-based transference of knowledge among Brazilian regions, as verified by Gonçalves and Almeida (2009) and Araujo and Garcia (2019). The spatial lag does not make it possible to differentiate the channels through which this flow occurs.…”

An expanded knowledge production function

“…Moreover, denser and diverse cities tend to present a better innovative performance what indicates Jacobian advantages for regional innovation in Brazil. Finally, Araújo and Garcia (2019) and Gonçalves, Oliveira and Almeida (2020) highlight the importance of interregional knowledge spillovers associated to innovative activities in Brazil.…”

“…When considering regional levels, for example, a small number of microregions is responsible for most knowledge produced (patents) in the period. It is also evident the concentration of this innovative process, located mainly in the Center-South portion of the country, which was called by Gonçalves (2007) and Araújo and Garcia (2019), a North-South polarization regime. When comparing the initial period (a) versus the final (b), the production of patents per 100,000 inhabitants maintained the same spatial distribution and concentration.…”