The geography of innovation: A cross-sector analysis

This paper attempts to identify some broad empirical regularities in the geographical distribution of innovative activities. The basic hypothesis which is advanced is that spatial patterns of innovation vary greatly amongst sectors according to the specific features of the underlying technology, as summarized by the concept of technological regime. In order to verify such a hypothesis, an empirical analysis was carried out by using European Patent Office (EPO) data for the period 1978-91. Two main results emerge from such analysis. On the one hand, the empirical evidence shows the existence of remarkable differences across technological classes in the spatial patterns of innovation. On the other hand, one also typically observes the existence of quite remarkable similarities across countries in the spatial patterns of innovation within each technological class.