Are we spending our scarce R&D resources adequately? Analyzing the efficiency of eu´s regional innovation systems

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the efficiency of the innovative activity and its determinants. The efficiency index determines to what extent it maximizes the relationship between the effort and R&D results at regional level. For this purpose, data from 132 European regions were used and the yearly level of efficiency in the period 2000-2010 was established through a Data Enveloping Analysis (DEA). In addition to efficiency, the paper addressed an important aspect: "spatial externalities". The literature on national innovation systems (Lundvall, 1992), growth theories (Marshall, 1919; Perroux, 1955; Myrdal, 1957; Krugman, 1998) and the literature on competitiveness indicate that the advantages of localization influence on the level of success of firms and the competitiveness of regions. In this work, a two-stage DEA (Simar & Wilson, 2007) has demonstrated the influence ( spillovers ) of national innovation systems on the level of efficient innovation in their regions and the existence of potential externalities.