Since the Lisbon agenda in 2000, Europe stated the goal to become the most advanced knowledge economy in the world relying specifically on the increase and strengthen of its human capital and technological endowments. However, given the presence of localized externalities in the knowledge...

The opportunity cost approach suggesting a countervailing cyclical effect between R&D and short-term investments is the subject of theoretical and empirical debate. The lack of firm-level panel data on R&D and ambiguous indicators for demand fluctuations has hindered empirical testing of...

Small and medium-sized enterprises, besides science and technology, may be a decisive factor in transforming a national economy. SME are not only a new social pattern, but they won a well-defined position, especially due to their adaptation possibilities, the large number of jobs provided, the...