Innovation within the Maritime Cluster of QUÉBEC – Evaluation of a Regional Study in Québec
Sabine Freye
Presses Académiques Francophones, Saarbrücken,
2013
Abstract
Grundlage der Untersuchung ist die Annahme, dass das Entwicklungspotential einer Industrie bzw. einer Region von ihrer Innovationstätigkeit abhängt. Im Speziellen werden Antworten auf folgende Fragestellungen gesucht: Lässt sich das Cluster-Konzept auf die maritime Industrie der maritimen Region Québecs übertragen? Kann dieser Sektor eine solch große Bedeutung und Wirtschaftskraft erlangen, dass er zu einem wirtschaftlichen Standbein dieser Region werden kann? Der Untersuchung liegen die Umfrageergebnisse einer regionalen Studie zugrunde, die insbesondere die Unternehmenseigenschaften, wie beispielsweise, Größe, Umsatz oder Anzahl der im Unternehmen tätigen Ingenieure, erfasste. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Großteil der Unternehmen in der untersuchten Stichprobe kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen sind, die nur wenig Innovationsaktivitäten haben. Insgesamt deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass der untersuchte maritime Sektor nicht die geeigneten Eigenschaften aufweist um dort das Konzept eines Clusters als Regionalentwicklungsstrategie anwenden zu können.
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Technological Intensity of Government Demand and Innovation
Viktor Slavtchev, Simon Wiederhold
Abstract
Governments purchase everything from airplanes to zucchini. This paper investigates whether the technological intensity of government demand affects corporate R&D activities. In a quality-ladder model of endogenous growth, we show that an increase in the share of government purchases in high-tech industries increases the rewards for innovation, and stimulates private-sector R&D at the aggregate level. We test this prediction using administrative data on federal procurement performed in US states. Both panel fixed effects and instrumental variable estimations provide results in line with the model. Our findings bring public procurement within the realm of the innovation policy debate.
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Specialization versus Diversification: Perceived Benefits of Different Incubation Models
Michael Schwartz, Christoph Hornych
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management,
No. 3,
2012
Abstract
Business incubator initiatives are a widespread policy instrument for the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation and the development of new technology-based firms. Recently, there has been an increasing tendency for the more traditional diversified incubators to be superseded by incubators focusing their support elements, processes and selection criteria on firms from one specific sector, and its particular needs. Despite the increasing importance of such specialized incubators in regional innovation strategies, the question of whether they are advantageous has neither been investigated empirically nor discussed theoretically in detail. Drawing on large-scale survey data from 161 firms incubated in either diversified or specialized incubators in Germany, we investigate the benefits to firms of being part of a specialized business incubator as opposed to being part of a generalized business incubator. The investigation of the value-added contribution of specialized incubators, in particular regarding hardware components, business assistance, networking and reputation gains, reveals considerable differences compared to the more diversified incubation model.
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Pre-announcement and Timing: The Effects of a Government Expenditure Shock
Alexander Kriwoluzky
European Economic Review,
No. 3,
2012
Abstract
An econometric strategy to identify a pre-announced fiscal policy shock is proposed. I show that the reduced form innovations can be recovered by estimating a Vector-moving-average model using the Kalman filter. The structural effects are identified exploiting the shock's pre-announced nature, which leads to potentially different signs of the responses of some endogenous variables during the announcement and after the realization of the shock. I illustrate my strategy by identifying a pre-announced shock to government consumption expenditures. I find that the response of private consumption is significantly negative on impact, rises and becomes significantly positive two quarters after the realization of the policy shock.
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What Drives Innovation Output from Subsidized R&D Cooperation? — Project-level Evidence from Germany
Michael Schwartz, Michael Fritsch, Jutta Günther, François Peglow
Technovation,
No. 6,
2012
Abstract
Using a large dataset of 406 subsidized R&D cooperation projects, we provide detailed insights into the relationship between project characteristics and innovation output. Patent applications and publications are used as measures for the innovation output of an R&D project. We find that large-firm involvement is strongly positively related with the number of patent applications, but not with the number of publications. Conversely, university involvement has positive effects on projects’ innovation output in terms of the number of publications but not in terms of patent applications. In general, projects’ funding as measure of projects’ size is an important predictor of the innovation output of R&D cooperation projects. No significant effects are found for the number of partners as (an alternative) measure of projects’ size, for spatial proximity between cooperation partners, for the involvement of a public institute for applied research, and for prior cooperation experiences. We derive conclusions for the design of R&D cooperation support schemes.
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Foreword: Competing: Important Stimuli for Knowledge Cities to Become Prosperous
Peter Franz
T. Yigitcanlar, K. Metaxiotis, J. Carrillo (eds), Building Prosperous Knowledge Cities. Policies, Plans and Metrics,
2012
Abstract
The author discusses the role of competitions in urban development strategies based on the cooperation of higher education institutions. The experience with similar strategies in regional policy and in innovation policy is reflected upon. After the presentation of some cases, the advantages and disadvantages of development strategies based on competitions are compared.
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Intellectual Property Rights Policy, Competition and Innovation
Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit
Journal of the European Economic Association,
No. 1,
2012
Abstract
To what extent and in what form should the intellectual property rights (IPR) of innovators be protected? Should a company with a large technology lead over its rivals receive the same IPR protection as a company with a more limited advantage? In this paper, we develop a dynamic framework for the study of the interactions between IPR and competition, in particular to understand the impact of such policies on future incentives. The economy consists of many industries and firms engaged in cumulative (step-by-step) innovation. IPR policy regulates whether followers in an industry can copy the technology of the leader. We prove the existence of a steady-state equilibrium and characterize some of its properties. We then quantitatively investigate the implications of different types of IPR policy on the equilibrium growth rate and welfare. The most important result from this exercise is that full patent protection is not optimal; instead, optimal policy involves state-dependent IPR protection, providing greater protection to technology leaders that are further ahead than those that are close to their followers. This is because of a trickle-down effect: providing greater protection to firms that are further ahead of their followers than a certain threshold increases the R&D incentives also for all technology leaders that are less advanced than this threshold.
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Internationalisation Theory and Technological Accumulation - An Investigation of Multinational Affiliates in East Germany
Björn Jindra
Studies in Economic Transition, London,
2012
Abstract
The integration of post-communist countries into the European and global economy after 1990 has led to a renewed interest in the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in economic restructuring and technological development. This book explains the expansion of MNEs into a transition economy from the technology accumulation perspective. Key assumptions of the technological accumulation approach towards firms' internationalisation are tested, using the examples of foreign and West German MNEs in East Germany. The effects of technological externalities on MNE location choice are analysed, in addition to an exploration of the factors driving the location of foreign affiliates' research and development (R&D) and innovation activities. The book provides a novel and comprehensive empirical approach to assess the developmental role of MNEs, deriving significant economic policy implications for transition and emerging economies.
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Cluster Policies in the Federal States of Bavaria and Thuringia: Discrepancies between Practice and Theory
Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 10,
2011
Abstract
Der Beitrag analysiert anhand veröffentlichter Dokumente die Clusterpolitiken in den Ländern Bayern und Thüringen. Ziel dieser Politiken ist die Stärkung der Innovationskraft. Eine explizite allokationspolitische Begründung
für Clusterpolitik mit dem Vorliegen von Externalitäten, Informationsasymmetrien oder Koordinierungsmängeln ist in den Dokumenten nicht sichtbar. Es bleibt daher offen, ob die praktizierte Clusterpolitik tatsächlich ursachenadäquat
ist. Beide Länder fokussieren auf die Unterstützung landesweiter Cluster und Netzwerke. Dadurch könnten aber die Vorteile räumlicher Nähe zu wenig Beachtung finden. Nicht ohne Probleme ist auch die ex ante vorgenommene Auswahl von Branchen und Technologiefeldern in den Clusterpolitiken beider Länder, selbst wenn aus den Eigendarstellungen der fördernden Ressorts Offenheit für Neues ablesbar ist. Denn dem Staat mangelt es generell an Informationen über die Zukunftsfähigkeit von Branchen und Technologien. Der Verzicht auf einen
Branchenfokus zugunsten wettbewerblicher Förderverfahren nach dem Vorbild von Bundesprogrammen kann dieses Problem mildern. Für Thüringen, das seine Clusterpolitik vor allem mit der Kleinteiligkeit der Unternehmensstruktur
motiviert, wird es jenseits clusterpolitischer Bemühungen darauf ankommen, weiterhin auch direkt die Beseitigung dieser strukturellen Nachteile anzuvisieren, insbesondere durch Rahmenbedingungen, die dem Wachstum der vorhandenen Unternehmen förderlich sind.
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