Technical Capacity and Heterogeneity of Regional Innovation Systems in Europe

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology for setting up regional innovation systems (RIS) in Europe. From the statistical technique of factorial analysis, 35 highly correlated variables that reflect different aspects of regional innovation activity are reduced to seven composite variables or factors, each one representing key aspects or subsystems of the innovation systems. This holistic and objective technique, in turn, allows a series of applications, among them, the calculation of an index of technological capacity and the configuration of a typology of RIS and the estimation of a knowledge production function identifying the determinants of innovation.