An Assessment of the Regional InnovationPolicy by the European Union based onBibliometrical Analysis

The Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs seeks to use knowledge and innovation in thecontext of the European Research Area (ERA). To build the ERA the European Union(EU) implements – amongst others - regional innovation policy. Ample scientificpublications have investigated how innovation drives regional dynamics. Therefore, weassess the goals of European regional innovation policy in the light of the scientificfindings, which we collected and condensed by bibliometrical analysis. The generalgoals of the Lisbon strategy to at the same time stimulate growth and achieve cohesionof economic activities across the EU is not in line with the finding that positivecumulative and self-reinforcing processes go hand in hand with the agglomeration ofeconomic activities. However, the goals of the specific innovation policies for theregional level are mainly in line with the scientific findings...