The average firm size of the top R&D investors among US-based companies is smaller than that of the EU-based firms. Does this help to explain why the US has a greater R&D intensity, or is the higher firm size in the EU, just as its lower R&D intensity, determined by the sectors in which the top...

This paper discusses the link between R&D and productivity across the European industrial and service sectors. The empirical analysis is based on both the European sectoral OECD data over the period 1987-2002 and on a unique micro longitudinal database consisting of 532 top European R&D...

This paper examines whether there are differences in private R&D investment performance between the EU and the US and, if so, why. The study is based on data from the 2008 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. The investigation assesses the effects of several very distinct factors that can...

The diversity of technological activities that contribute to growth in labour productivity is examined in this paper for manufacturing and services industries in eight major EU countries. We test the relevance of the two major strategies of technological competitiveness (based on innovation in...

The importance of SMEs in Europe's innovation process can be seen in both the academic and the political arena. Adopted in June 2008, the 'Small Business Act' for Europe reflects the Commission's political will to recognise the central role of SMEs in the EU economy and was the first to put in...

Under the influence of the Lisbon Strategy (2000), the Barcelona '3%' objective (2002) for more investment in research in Europe and the renewed Lisbon Strategy (2005), increased attention has been paid by both policy-makers and researchers to the origin of the EU-US R&D investment gap, which...

Policy-makers have become increasingly aware that corporate R&D and innovation are the main drivers of an economy's competitiveness and growth. The widespread adoption of R&D targets has led researchers and analysts to pursue a deeper understanding of corporate R&D investment trends, drivers and...

In this study we use a unique database covering 25 manufacturing and service sectors for 15 European countries over the period 1996-2005, for a total of 2,295 observations, and apply GMM-SYS panel estimations of a demand-for-labour equation augmented with technology. We find that R&D...

Innovation in the European Union remains weak according to a number of key "input" indicators, especially R&D investment by the business sector, and there are relatively few signs of progress. From a firm-level perspective, Europe's innovation gap relative to the US results from an inappropriate...

In this article, we analyse the microeconomic relationship between innovation and employment, using company data from the R&D Scoreboard for Europe covering 2000-2008. A reduced form labour demand equation is estimated. In the equation, R&D can account for both product and process innovation....