Varieties of Regional Innovation Systems around the World and Catch-up by Latecomers

Jinhee Kim and Keun Lee ()

No 2219, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This study identifies the characteristics and types of the regional innovation systems (RIS) of regions and cities in emerging economies in comparison to those in advanced economies. It uses the citation data of the US patents filed by 30 regions. Some RIS variables are newly developed, and they include intra-regional, inter-regional, and inter-national sourcing of knowledge and local ownership of innovation. The cluster analysis of these variables enables us to identify four major types of RIS around the world and link them to regional economic performance. The four types are, in the descending order of their per capita income levels, as follows: large, mature RIS characterized by a combination of long cycle technology specialization and high local ownership (Group 1), mixed RIS characterized by a long cycle and low local ownership (Group 2), “strong catch-up†characterized by short cycle and high local ownership (Group 3), and “weak catch-up†characterized by short cycle and low local ownership (Group 4). Groups 3 and 4 include only the regions in emerging world. They similarly specialize in the same short cycle time of technologies (CTT)-based sectors but show different records of economic performance. The key differentiating variable is the degree of local ownership of knowledge, which can be a basis for increasing domestic sourcing of knowledge and sustained catching up. Another important variable is decentralization, of which the level is lower in the strong catch-up group than in the weak catch-up group. In this Group 3, catching up is led by big businesses. Several cities experiencing upgrading, like Moscow, Beijing, and Shanghai, also show an increasing trend of local ownership and centralization.

Keywords: regional innovation systems; innovation; patents; economic growth; economic catch-up (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 O31 O32 O33 O50 R11 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-10, Revised 2022-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-hme, nep-ino, nep-knm, nep-sbm, nep-tid and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:2219

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