Economic Policy Commons^™

Firm Size And Innovation In European Manufacturing, Mario Pianta, Andrea Vaona

Mario Pianta

The paper investigates the differences between small, medium-sized and large firms regarding their performance in the introduction of new products and processes. After a review of the relevant literature, two models are proposed and tested in search for different business strategies and innovation inputs connected to product and process innovations. The empirical analysis uses innovation survey (CIS 2) data at the industry level for 22 manufacturing sectors, broken down in three firm size classes, for eight European countries. Special attention is devoted to tackling the issues of possible endogeneity of the regressors and of unobserved sectoral heterogeneity. The results – …

New Process And New Products In Europe And Italy, Mario Pianta, Francesco Crespi

Mario Pianta

Demand And Innovation In European Industries, Mario Pianta, Francesco Crespi

Mario Pianta

After the decade-old debate between demand-pull and technology-push perspectives, demand seems to have fallen out of fashion. In this paper two models are proposed on the determinants of general innovative activities and on the market impact of product innovations. The models combine the supply and demand engines of innovation, and qualify the type of innovative efforts, distinguishing between those oriented towards cost reductions or towards technological competitiveness. The models are tested at the industry level for 22 manufacturing sectors and 17 services sectors in six European countries. The results show that efforts at technological competitiveness, product oriented strategies and the …

Measuring Technological Change Through Patents And Innovation Surveys, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

This article provides an overview of recent research using innovation surveys and patent data as indicators of technological activity. The conceptual and methodological problems of 'measuring' technology are discussed, with a classification of the types of information which can be drawn from patent databases and from surveys of both innovations and the innovative efforts of firms. The findings and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of such studies are reviewed, considering first the evidence at the firm level, second the analysis of the industrial structure and finally the evidence at the country level and the process of globalization. The overview shows …

Aggregate Convergence And Sectoral Specialization In Innovation, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

Over the last 20 years OECD countries have converged in terms of their innovation, in parallel to the process of economic convergence and catching-up in technology. However, this has not led to a similarity in the sectoral strenghts of the majority of countries. Applying a measure of "technological distance" between pairs of countries based on patents, it is shown that nations have increased their technological specialization (i.e their sectoral differences) over the 1980s. An apparent paradox is pointed out, as countries converge by becoming more different and grow by becoming more specialized.

Specialization And Size Of Technological Activities In Industrial Countries: The Analysis Of Patent Data, Mario Pianta, Daniele Archibugi

Mario Pianta

The determinants and directton of the technological specialization of advanced countries are investtgated in thus paper using patent counts and citations as technology indicators.