Are research, development and innovations key processes of uneven regional development?

Abstract

Research, development and innovations (R&D&I) are widely considered as key factors enhancing economic development of both nations and regions. R&D&I activities are, however, strongly concentrated in few areas. Therefore, one might consider disparities in R&D potential and its exploitation as a crucial source of regional disparities. Nevertheless, analysing spatial patterns of R&D&I activities brings several obstacles. These consist particularly in limited data available for description of processes linked to the translation of R&D&I activities into economic growth. This paper intends to search for suitable data and indicators analysing microdata from statistical survey on R&D and for more accurate usage for them as their most often aggregate use might lead to inaccurate or misleading conclusions.