New Publication on regional cooperation and innovation

coverMy paper, “An investigation of the relation between cooperation and the innovative success of German regions“, has been published in Spatial Economic Analysis. The paper is co-authored by Matthias Bürger and Thomas Brenner.

 

Abstract:

Concepts like regional innovation systems, innovative milieu and learning regions emphasise the positive contribution of intra-regional cooperation to firms’ innovation performance. This claim is, however, primarily backed by qualitative evidence, as few studies test this issue with quantitative approaches. Using data on co-application and co-invention of patents for 270 German labour market regions, this study shows that cooperation intensity and regions’ innovation efficiency are empirically associated in a negative way. This particularly concerns missing or very extensive inter-regional cooperation. In contrast, medium intensities of regional cooperation have rather positive effects.

It can be downloaded through this link.