Developing Technology in the Vicinity of Science : Do Firms Really Benefit? An Empirical Assessment on the Level of Italian Provinces

The article examines whether firms benefit from the presence of universities when developing technology. By estimating regional knowledge production functions for 101 Italian regions, we observe a strong positive relation between industrial technological performance - measured by patents - and the local presence of universities. In addition, 'academic' regions witness higher levels of industrial technological output, the more pronounced the scientific eminence of the regional universities. Finally, our analysis indicates that the observed spillover effects are field-specific, with domains situated in the vicinity of science benefiting most. Together, these findings suggest complementary roles for scientific and industrial actors within regional innovation systems