Do general innovation policy tools fit all? Analysis of the regional impact of the Norwegian Skattefunn scheme

Abstract

Background: The paper examines the regional effects of a general innovation policy, i.e. a policy tool that does not target specific industries or subnational regions. General policy tools are an important part of the portfolio of innovation policy measures. However, there is a question over whether general tools are equally relevant for all types of firms, irrespective of their size, sector and location. Findings: The economic geography and innovation study literature, as well as the EU's Smart Specialization approach, are based on the view that innovation policy tools must be adapted to specific regional conditions. General policy tools are insufficient unless they are adapted to individual regions. This paper examines the regional distribution of support from the Norwegian Skattefunn scheme, which is a tax incentive scheme designed to stimulate R&D activity in all types of enterprises, which has supported more than 24,000 approved R&D projects between 2002 and 2013. Based on our regression analysis, we observe that regional innovation system (RIS) variables are important for explaining the region's ability to attract Skattefunn funding. Conclusions: Skattefunn projects are quite evenly spread across labour market regions, which are grouped into a geographical centre-periphery pattern. That is, being in a peripheral location is not a disadvantage. However, at a more detailed regional level, the Skattefunn scheme tends to favour firms in specific industries and in regions with a relatively developed regional innovation system.

Regional innovation system research trends: toward knowledge management and entrepreneurial ecosystems

“…Regardless of whether the focus is on the institutional and organizational dimensions [7,30], the systemic approach of innovation [16,31], or the evolutionary perspective [5,32,33], the broad consensus is that innovation policies must consider each region's specificities, which depend on political, economic, and sociocultural factors, as well as the legal, technological, and environmental context [14,17,34,35].…”

“…This growth owes to the greater intensity of international competition in the globalized economy, the shortcomings of traditional regional development models and policies, and the emergence of successful clusters of firms and industries in many regions around the world [9,10]. The literature on RIS provides extensive descriptions and analysis of relationships between innovation, learning, and economic performance of particular regions [11][12][13][14].…”

Assessing Conditions for the Development of Advanced Energy Technologies on the Regional Level in Russian Federation

“…Вопрос регионального инновационного развития в настоящее время актуален как для практиков, так и для исследователей. Существует множество отечественных исследований, посвященных развитию инноваций в регионах [8][9][10][11], также этот вопрос актуален и в зарубежной академической среде [12][13][14][15][16]. Многие авторы рассматривают проблему инновационного развития регионов применительно к энергетическому сектору [17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…Хотя в литературе можно найти множество альтернативных вариантов определения инновационного потенциала региона, большинство авторов сходятся в том, что при оценке необходимо принимать во внимание именно предлагаемые авторами характеристики [8,43,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Подобные методики оценки встречаются также и в зарубежной литературе [14,20,37,54,55].…”

Policy for Evolution of Regional Innovation Systems: The Role of Social Capital and Regional Particularities

“…National and regional policy approaches have focused on the importance of stimulating interlinkages between firms and R&D organizations to increase innovation and industry development (Jakobsen and Onsager, 2008), as is reflected by the Research and Public PhD, all aimed at increasing systemic interaction among firms and R&D organizations. For example, the SkatteFunn program, a tax incentive scheme in which businesses and enterprises that are subject to taxation in Norway are eligible to apply for tax relief if their R&D projects meet certain criteria (Isaksen et al, 2017), in…”