Spatial distribution of R&D expenditure and patent applications across EU regions and its impact on economic cohesion
This article explores the spatial distribution of regional technology indicators
in the EU over the last decade and its impact on cohesion. Thus, we find that
public R&D spending and patent applications have converged among regions during
the nineties. On the other hand, private R&D activities have diverged, as a result of an
asymmetric expansion during the second half of the nineties. We show that when the
dispersion of public R&D across regions diminished in the second half of the nineties,
income disparities at regional level also decreased. Therefore, while technology
policy based on efficiency criteria should remain as a policy tool for economic
growth, this policy should be counterbalanced by R&D funds to the least developed
regions to maintain economic cohesion.
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