Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9265
Authors: Riccardo Crescenzi; Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
Abstract: This paper looks at the genesis of innovation in the United States from a territorial perspective. The analysis aims to disentangle the impact of local R&D expenditure from other contextual conditions supportive of the process of innovation. Particular emphasis is devoted to the role of socio-economic factors and systems of innovation conditions (?social filter? conditions) and to their impact on the returns of R&D expenditure in different territorial contexts. The empirical analysis is based on a Regional Knowledge Production Function approach, leading to an empirical model estimated by means of panel data analysis for the period between 1994 and 2007 at the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)-Economic Area level. The results unveil the complexity of the territorial dynamics of innovation of the US. Local R&D investments are important predictors for regional innovative performance and their impact is highly localized. However, social filter conditions are fundamental for the productivity of innovation efforts.
Keywords: innovation; R&D; socioeconomic conditions; systems of innovation; United States
JEL Codes: O32; O33; R11; R12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Local R&D investments (O32) | Regional innovative performance (O39) |
| Local R&D investments (O32) | Patenting activity (O34) |
| Adult population holding a college degree (I23) | Local innovative output (O36) |
| Social filter index (Z13) | Innovation outcomes (O36) |
| Localized socioeconomic conditions (R11) | Productivity of innovation efforts (O36) |
| R&D investments (O32) | Local innovative output (O36) |
| Interregional spillover effects for R&D (O36) | Limited knowledge spillovers (D89) |