Regional innovation policy and innovative behaviours. A propensity score matching evaluation

The paper aims at evaluating the additionality of innovation policy in terms of innovative behaviours at the regional level. Innovation behaviours are distinguished, depending on their occurrence within and across the firms and the regional boundaries.The policy role with respect to them is evaluated for a sample of firms in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, by making use of an original, survey-based dataset, to which a Propensity Score Matching approach is applied. Funded firms are more likely to upgrade their competencies, when compared to similar non subsidised companies. On the other hand, their innovation cooperation with other business partners is not significantly affected by the policy, both within and outside the region, unless in the interaction with particular partners. All in all, the investigated innovation policy in the ER region seems to show more of what could be termed ‘cognitive capacity additionality’, rather than ‘network additionality’.