The energy industry is facing substantial challenges that require the fostering of innovation. In this paper we analyse the main drivers of R&D investment and obstacles to innovation in this industry. We examine, firstly, whether the stated R&D objectives pursued by firms play a role in their...

Many regional governments in developed countries design programs to improve the competitiveness of local firms. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of public programs whose aim is to enhance the performance of firms located in Catalonia (Spain). We compare the performance of publicly...

In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of regional R&D public programs in Catalonia (Spain) with a two-stage procedure. Firstly, we compare the performance of publicly subsidised companies (treated) with that of similar, but unsubsidised companies (non-treated). We use the Propensity Score...

Measuring productive efficiency provides information on the likely effects of regulatory reform. We present a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of a sample of 38 vehicle inspection units under a concession regime with a homogeneous level of quality, which is enforced by a regional regulator,...

In recent decades the contribution made by higher education institutions to regional development has attracted increasing attention. Considering the university as an economic agent with its own budget and expenditure, then the activities it engages in, as well as those of the groups from which...

In this paper we test for the presence of localisation economies due to input-output linkages between vertically related firms located in the same region. To undertake this we estimate, by duality, a quadratic cost function using a sector by sector panel at the European regional level in the...

Many regional governments in developed countries design programs to improve the competitiveness of local firms. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of public programs whose aim is to enhance the performance of firms located in Catalonia (Spain). We compare the performance of publicly...

Measuring productive efficiency provides information on the likely effects of regulatory reform. We present a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of a sample of 38 vehicle inspection units under a concession regime, between the years 2000 and 2004. The differences in efficiency scores show the...

The concept of innovation has been a constant worry for industrial sectors characterised by mature technology and by the loss of competitiveness associated to it. The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of innovation on the competitive position of the Spanish textile and clothing...

Measuring productive efficiency provides information on the likely effects of regulatory reform. We present a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) of a sample of 38 vehicle inspection units under a concession regime, between the years 2000 and 2004. The differences in efficiency scores show the...