ABSTRACT
This edited volume describes the spatial diffusion of knowledge and innovation using a large dataset at the regional level, and presents scientific evidence on the role of knowledge and innovation on regional development. The empirical results support a new design for innovation policies at the regional level, which could help the European Union to achieve the targets set up in its 2020 Agenda.
Today, financial capital, general information, consolidated technologies and codified knowledge are readily available virtually everywhere. However, the ability to organize these ‘pervasive’ factors into continuously innovative production processes and products is by no means pervasive and generalized; rather, it exists selectively only in some places where tacit knowledge is continuously created, exchanged and utilized and business ideas find their way to real markets.
Territorial Patterns of Innovation provides evidence that, contrary to popular belief, local knowledge intensity does not necessarily guarantee higher innovation performance. Moreover, the book shows that the growth benefits deriving from innovation do not necessarily match the strength of the formal local knowledge base, and that regions innovating in the absence of a strong local knowledge base can be as successful as more knowledge-intensive regions in turning innovation into a higher growth rate. Together, the contributions in this book offer a new understanding of the relationship between knowledge, innovation and regional performance by delving beyond generally held beliefs. It will be of value to regional scientists, industrial economists and policymakers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 1|16 pages
An inquiry on the regional dimension of the knowledge economy
part I|109 pages
Measuring the territorial dimension of knowledge and innovation in Europe
part II|172 pages
Territorial patterns of innovation and regional dynamics in Europe
chapter 11|36 pages
Regional knowledge creation in China, India and the US
part III|28 pages
Innovation policy implications