Human capital and RD Driven Growth: analyse for France at regional level on the long run

At the root of the Lisbon goal, for Europe, is placed the awareness for advocating a close link between growth and dissemination of advanced knowledge and innovation, on the one hand, and raising in general endowments in human capital, on the other hand, as to have power over the development of non-specific skills and boost efficiency. Much work in literature also stressed the interest of the position concerning traditional activities in the geography of innovation and links, in the long term, between the spatial distribution of longestablished skills and knowledge creation. Following Jones, in this approach, for which contribution to R&D and innovation explains half of the increase in wealth per capita, a third of that drive comes from the qualitative improvement of the workforce and the rest from population dynamics. Here we test that the R&D contribution remains a major cause of regional growth in France in competition with the one coming from human capital development. It is obvious that many issues of inertia, considering time and space, are raised along this attempt. However, these results do not invalidate as economically inefficient in terms of regional development the scattering over the whole nation for-enterprise and public research activities. The R&D specialization impact, on regional growth, confirmed here drives a broad similar effect coming from private or public sector. The impact drives by human capital is also validated, with an impact of magnitude close to the one for physical capital. Indeed, models tested here, run on the longest period permitted by the availability in regional statistics, highlight the complementary for explaining growth between a global impact through the stock of general education, on the one hand, and on the other part, the impact of personnel engaged with the creation of knowledge through R&D.