The internationalisation of R&D: sectoral and geographic patterns of cross-border investments

This paper presents the sectoral and geographic distribution of R&D-related activities, in comparison with manufacturing activities, by analysing data (from the fDi Markets database) on the number of cross-border greenfield investment projects. Results show that crossborder R&D investments are concentrated in fewer sectors and countries (of origin and destination) than manufacturing, and they are less sensitive to the obstacles related with the distance between home and host countries. More than the two-thirds of all cross-border investments in R&D-related activities are in ICT/Electronic and Life Sciences/Chemicals sectors, but these sectors differ in their propensity towards R&D and Design, Development and Testing activities. Almost half of the investments is due to multinationals from North America, and over one third from Western Europe, but the two areas show a different sectoral specialization. Considering the areas of destination, Asia is the largest recipient, and specializes in the ICT/Electronics and Industrial Machinery, while Western Europe ranks second and attracts relatively more research investments in Life Sciences/Chemicals, as well as in the Machinery industry