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R&D productivity: are ideas harder to find or does Europe suffer from a commercialization gap?

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It has been a long-standing debate whether Europe suffers from an innovation gap. Recent studies indicate a global decline in research and development (R&D) productivity across various sectors, raising concerns about the efficiency of innovation investments. New panel data from the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard allow examining long-term relationships between firm productivity and R&D. The results show that EU top R&D investors struggle more than their global counterparts to convert their R&D into new ideas and marketable products.

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  • Czarnitzki Dirk & Confraria Hugo, 2025. "R&D productivity: are ideas harder to find or does Europe suffer from a commercialization gap?," JRC Research Reports JRC141091, Joint Research Centre.
  • Handle: RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc141091
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    1. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hünermund, Paul & Moshgbar, Nima, 2020. "Public Procurement of Innovation: Evidence from a German Legislative Reform," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
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    4. Czarnitzki Dirk & Confraria Hugo, 2025. "R&D productivity: are ideas harder to find or does Europe suffer from a commercialization gap?," JRC Research Reports JRC141091, Joint Research Centre.
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    1. Czarnitzki Dirk & Confraria Hugo, 2025. "R&D productivity: are ideas harder to find or does Europe suffer from a commercialization gap?," JRC Research Reports JRC141091, Joint Research Centre.

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