Regional R&D&i productivity in Europe : identifying regional typologies and policy recommendations

Research, development and innovation activities have become key sources of competitive advantage, which is one of the main factors behind the wellbeing of citizens living in a given territory. Being aware of this fact, public administrations at different administrative levels have encouraged the production of innovations through different public policies. On the other hand, firms that invest in research, development and innovation usually obtain in the long and medium terms innovative products and services that allow them to compete in favorable conditions in the local and international markets. If we focus in Europe, regional disparities in the amount of innovation inputs on one side and in the amount of innovation outputs on the other side are very high. In this paper the authors will measure the productivity of research, development and innovation activities performed by all regions in the EU. In order to do so, the authors will take into account some indicators to measure innovation inputs and outputs (related to science, technology and also to collaboration among agents in innovation activities and wealth creation) at the regional level. Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) we will measure regional productivity in the field of R&D and innovation and we will compare this productivity outcome between regions in the EU. After explaining this first DEA model, we will use the main components analysis and then cluster analysis to achieve a typology of regions regarding their productivity in R&D and innovation activities. Once the typology of regions has been described and analyzed, the paper will end with some policy recommendations for each type of region, taking into account the regional innovation systems approach to innovation understanding and innovation policy. It may be possible to establish learning processes between different types of regions, taking into account the singularity and the unique mix of assets of each region.