Innovation without corporate R&D? An analysis of the Italian case and implications for policy

This paper analyses the status of private R&D investment in Italy based on a collection of recent evidences and indicates possible policy actions to boost private R&D investment. Our analysis relies on microdata from an unbalanced 10 years’ panel data-set (2004-2013), built using several waves of the European Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard and on other sources of quantitative and qualitative information (e.g. OECD, ISTAT, EUROSTAT, ERAWATCH Country Report – Italy, 2013, State of the Innovation Union, 2014). We also took into account recent academic literature on the topic. Based on all this, we argue that: i) innovation in firms' without their engagement in R&D activities is not sustainable in the medium and long term to reach higher levels of innovation, competitiveness and growth; ii) the Italian R&D and innovation (and competitiveness) gap is due to ‘systemic’/structural reasons and thus targeted high quality policies are needed to address these issues; iii) such policy interventions will have little positive impact without comprehensive reform aimed at improving the innovation environment as a whole. Careful design of an ‘innovation strategy’ that includes support for R&D is needed. This strategy should be fine-tuned to tackle the actual specificities of the Italian economic context and its R&D-led innovation difficulties.

MONCADA PATERNO' CASTELLO Pietro;  GRASSANO Nicola; 

2016-09-02

Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA

JRC102311

978-83-01-18526-8,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC102311,