The Efficiency of Triple-Helix Relations in Innovation Systems : Measuring the Connection between a Country’s Net Income and Its Knowledge Base

We apply the Method of Reflections developed by Hidalgo and Hausmann for measuring economic complexity to a Triple Helix system of innovations by defining the Patent Complexity Index in analogy and addition to the Economic Complexity Index and extending MR to three dimensions. PCI is operationalized in terms of patent groups instead of product groups. PCI and ECI are computed for three groups of countries. We find no correlation between economic complexity and technological complexity which means that the two measures capture different information. Adding the third dimension of governance to the Method of Reflections, one can incorporate knowledge dimension in Hidalgo and Hausmann defined ECI and use MR for evaluation the efficiency of Triple-Helix system of innovations. The Method of Reflections can thus be used for evaluating the efficiency of a TH system of innovations in terms of its contribution to the net national income