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Young leading innovators and the EU's R&D intensity gap

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  • Michele Cincera
  • Reinhilde Veugelers

Abstract

Europe's innovation gap relative to the USA is often attributed to its industrial structure in which new firms do not play a significant role, especially in high-tech sectors. This view of a structural European Union (EU) innovation deficit is popular in European innovation policy discussions, but has received little or no thorough empirical investigation. This article aims to address this ‘evidence gap’. Using industrial R&D Scoreboard data from leading world innovators, we find that compared to the USA, the EU has fewer young firms among its leading innovators. Using a decomposition analysis, we show that having fewer young firms accounts for about one-third of the EU--US differential in R&D intensity, while 55% of the differential is due to the fact that young leading innovators in the EU are less R&D intensive than their US counterparts. Further analysis shows that this is almost entirely due to a different sectoral composition. We thus confirm that the EU--US private R&D gap is indeed mostly a structural issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Michele Cincera & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2013. "Young leading innovators and the EU's R&D intensity gap," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 177-198, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:22:y:2013:i:2:p:177-198
    DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2012.731166
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    1. C. Denis & K. Mc Morrow & W. Röger & R. Veugelers, 2005. "The Lisbon Strategy and the EU's structural productivity problem," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 221, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    2. Bruno Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, 2008. "Europe's R&D: Missing the Wrong Targets?," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 43(4), pages 220-225, July.
    3. Florence Jaumotte & Nigel Pain, 2005. "Innovation in the Business Sector," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 459, OECD Publishing.
    4. repec:dau:papers:123456789/131 is not listed on IDEAS
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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