Transcript Innovation: a Dutch European perspective

Innovation policies and regional
development:
the European challenge
Luc Soete
University of Maastricht
MERIT
http://www.merit.unimaas.nl
Globelics Academy lecture, Lisbon, June 1st, 2004, 16.30-18.00
Outline
• An EU story: EU is a union of nation states has
lots of implications also in relation to S&T
• Some regional economics: intrinsic limits of social
cohesion policies in a Europe of nation states
• The European Research Area and its impact on
regional development and social cohesion
• Case for regional Knowledge Anchorage
1. Some macro-economics
• “National” competitiveness policies have in a monetary
union potential beggar-thy-neighbour implications:
• Impact of national “wage settling” policies on (un)employment in other
member countries
• Competition between member countries in negative rather than positive
integration measures
• Danger of a European “race to the bottom” with respect to social and
welfare policies
• The European Research Area as a “race to the top”:
• Up to now a top down approach: European targets translated in
national targets/benchmarks
• Need for bottom up approach: regional diversity as factor for
knowledge activation policies
The EU and social cohesion
• Europe unique laboratory of regional
development policies, but social cohesion aims
becoming questioned:
• Effectiveness: national growth convergence within the EU,
but regional divergence (national failure in first instance)
• Physical borders of European solidarity being questioned
with enlargement (strong political reasons for national
regional policies)
• Intrinsic limits of regional policy: peripheral regions;
success implies discontinuation; hence vulnerability of
created European goodwill
2. Some regional economics
• Diversity of regional development is a reflection
of mixture of factors:
• Geographical ones: peripheral location
• Physical endowments: agriculture, mining, logistics
• Agglomeration effects: snowball size effect; population
density closely linked to knowledge activities
• New endowments: sustainability (pollution, congestion,
urban development); ageing (health and care, mobility,
housing)
• Positive cluster effects vs negative cluster effects
The regional dimension of the ERA
• Social cohesion implications of ERA underresearched:
• Likely internal EU migration effects of highly skilled
• Regional/local implications of Mattheus effects of research
excellence
• Local knowledge cluster effects could lead to accentuation
of regional (and national) growth diversity
• Quid when EU nations (including accession countries)
observe strong brain drain trends?
3. Some comments on NSI
• Complex subject with many actors involved (Lundvall,
Fagerberg, and all those not here Nelson, Freeman,
Edquist…)
• Need for a systemic approach to the many interactions
between science and socio-economic development
• Some borders do matter: role for national versus
regional innovation systems
• Such systems evolve over long periods, changes are
often incremental:
• National systems under international pressures
• Regional systems in search of dynamism
• Role of universities (Mowery)
Public-Private Knowledge Links:
An Increasing Mismatch?
• “National” research policies: improving quality,
strengthening research capacities, but little
specialisation…
• Dutch knowledge disease: phenomenon of
growing duality emerging between private and
public research capacity, typical for small to
medium sized countries with large multinationals
• Private research strongly internationalized
• Public research: national research “autarchy” policy
• Region as natural environment for ERA related
science and development policy
Different regional policy trajectories
• “Crowding in” strategy of existing private R&D.
To build stronger linkages between private R&D
activities and public research institutes
• Only way to achieve ERA without further exacerbate European research
paradox
• Might maintain private R&D expenditures of existing European MNCs
• Spinn-offs of universities and polytechnics:
support technostarters
• Cooperation with local authorities, regional innovation platforms
• Role of large firms as having “the clout to make things work”
Role of universities
• Not just universities but also polytechnics:
– Different in various EU countries
– Uniformisation towards university level not always positive (UK
experience)
• Focus on both strategies, but with totally different
angles:
– Technology angle in case of “crowding in”
– Marketing angle in case of “spin-offs” and start-ups
• Need for a truly joint effort (example of academic
hospitals; coaching, technopartners, etc.)
4. Case for Regional Knowledge
Anchorage
• From regional system of innovation
perspective 4 elements appear particularly
relevant for regional growth and
development:
–
–
–
–
Quality of human capital formation
Openness of research capacity
Strength of innovative performance
Absorptive regional capacity
Regional human capital formation
• Focus on local/regional higher education
institutions: universities, polytechnics,
professional training schools, including life long
learning
• Emphasis on quality, reduction in failure rates and
drop outs
• Improving attractiveness to “foreign” students, i.e.
from other regions
• Recognition of importance of exchange
programmes as benchmark learning tools
Openness of research capacity
• Strengthening of local research presence in
regional economic, industrial and political tissue
(seminars, (in)formal networks, local media,
cooperation)
• Joint public-private regional initiatives
• Focused excellence where openness to “foreign”
knowledge, researchers, institutes collaboration is
dominant trend
• Strengthening research infrastructure common
regional aim
Local innovative performance
• Recognition of importance of local scientific spinoff (scientific entrepreneurs)
• Strengthening of links between public research
institutes/researchers/teachers and local SMEs
(local knowledge vouchers)
• Embedment of large, dominant MNC in public
research infrastructure (anchorage, increasing
costs of footlooseness)
• Regional/local PR of innovative identity
Absorptive regional capacity
• Focus on regional bèta users
• Role of regional public authorities in terms
of procurement
• Regional presence “abroad” (fairs, etc.)
• Focus on regional diffusion and knowledge
distribution policies
• Cooperation with other “foreign” regions
HUMAN CAPITAL
RESEARCH CAPACITY
ABSORTION CAPACITY
INNOVAT. PERFORMANCE
SOCIAL & HUMAN CAPITAL
RESEARCH CAPACITY
ABSORTION CAPACITY
TECH. & INNOVAT. PERFORMANCE
SOCIAL & HUMAN CAPITAL
RESEARCH CAPACITY
SWE
FIN
DNK
DNK
UK
SWE
FIN
UK
NLD
NDL
IRL
DEU
FRA
AUT
BEL
BEL
ESP
PRT
GRC
ITA GRC
100
ESP
IRL
AUT
UK
FRA NDL
DNK
DEU
PRT
GRC
0
GRC
PRT
AUT
ESP DEU
IRL
FRA
ITA
100
PRT
ESP
ITA
ITA
AUT
BEL
BEL
UK
DNK
FRA
NDL
DEU
FIN
FIN
SWE
SWE
100
TECH. & INNOVAT. PERFORMANCE
IRL
ABSORPTION CAPACITY
100
UK
65.0
ESP
DNK
PRT
45.0
IRL
GRC
FI
N
25.0 NDL
AUT
-75.0
-55.0
-35.0
IT
A
5.0
BEL
-15.0
5.0
-15.0
SWE
-35.0
FRA
-55.0
DEU
-75.0
25.0
45.0
65.0
5. Interesting experiences
• Regions of knowledge EU programme
– Emphasis on role of local universities and/or public
research institutes
– Cooperation between highly advanced and social
cohesion regions (interactive learning)
• Cross-national border regions
– Border regions and the underutilized growth potential
beyond the national border
– Use differences between country’s to own regional
advantage
Case LEA: differences BelgiumNetherlands-Germany
• Belgian/Flemish knowledge economy:
• Dependent on foreign firms
• Universities underfunded but attractors
• Strong human and S&E capital
• Dutch knowledge economy:
• Dependent on Dutch MNCs which are internationalizing
• Fragmented university/higher education policy
• S&E shortages
• German knowledge economy:
• Nationally oriented higher education policy
• Lagging behind: old knowledge economy
Beyond “nationalism”
• “National competitiveness a dangourous
obsession?” to paraphrase Paul Krugman
• Knowledge economy is an economy without
borders: pieces of knowledge acquired, bought,
stolen, reshuffled form all over the world.
• National targets (Barcelona) were ultimately
primarily inspired by national statistics and
national policy makers
• New geography and agglomeration effects:
regions are the natural environment for local
anchorage of knowledge related activities.
In search of European clusters…
• Significance of regional and/or local research and
innovation activities/policies in Europe comparable to
the US
• Limited success on implementation of cross-border
cooperation: dominance of nationalism in RTD and
innovation policies
• Diversified or fragmented as one prefers to take a
positive or negative view with respect to universities,
businesses, local authorities generally involved
• In search of European regional clusters towards an
ERRA… only way to achieve Lisbon.