Metropolitan Edison and cosmopolitan Pasteur? Agglomeration and interregional research network effects on European R&D productivity

Abstract

This article examines empirically the relative influence of static and dynamic agglomeration effects on the one hand and research networking [measured by Framework Programme (FP) participation] on the other on regional R&D productivity in the European Union. We found that agglomeration is an important predictor of R&D productivity in the case of market-oriented (Edison-type) research while interregional scientific networking is an important determinant of R&D productivity in the case of science-driven (Pasteur-type) research. Importantly, the two determinants are never jointly significant. This finding indicates that in a knowledge production context, and contrary to what may happen in other areas of economic activity, agglomeration and scientific networking are neither substitutes nor complements but operate at distinct parts of the knowledge production process. Our findings uncover the principal components of regional knowledge production processes across European regions in a dynamic setting. They therefore allow us to explore counterfactual scenarios and characterize the effects of policy interventions. A simulation of the likely impacts of FP6 funds on regional R&D productivity demonstrates that the dynamic effect is greater in regions with high agglomeration.

Looking beyond the R&D effects on innovation: The contribution of non-R&D activities to total factor productivity growth in the EU

“…Finally, following the recent results by Varga et al (2014), controlling agglomeration and/or scienti…c networking within our framework could also be a fruitful research avenue for looking at the impacts of R&D and non-R&D on TFP.…”

Intensity and Structure of Research and Development in the Czech and Slovak Regions

“…We do not consider this evaluation to be sufficient, therefore we add one more indicator. Quadrant model of research orientation [22,23].…”

“…In developed countries, the basic research represents a lower share of total R&D expenditures than the applied research [5]. Based on this typology we can distinguish four types of research orientation of countries or regions [21][22][23]:  Bohr-type is fundamental research, which might result in sizeable new-to-the-world discoveries. This research is not intended to be used in the form of innovations in short time.…”

Knowledge creation and knowledge diffusion in space and regional innovation performance: introductory remarks

“…Moreover, spatial proximity complements other forms of knowledge acquisition; in particular, formal, intentional relations based on coordinated and well-defined linkages between actors who might, or might not, be in close spatial proximity, has been identified as a channel of knowledge acquisition (Camagni 1991;Bathelt et al 2004;Maggioni et al 2007;Maggioni and Uberti 2009;Varga et al 2013). The need for firms to network with extra-local knowledge pools has been interpreted as a way to overcome potential situations of regional 'entropic death', 'lock-in', or 'over-embeddedness' (Boschma 2005;Camagni 1991;Grabher 1993;Uzzi 1997).…”