Heterogeneous influences of specialization and diversification on regional R&D performance: a China, Europe, and US comparison

Zhuoying You and Peter Teirlinck

Science and Public Policy, 2024, vol. 51, issue 6, 1169-1184

Abstract: We study the impact of industrial specialization and diversification on regional R&D performance. We respond to a need to consider specialization and diversification as being complementary and to cover a broad geographical scope. Based on Malmquist-based data envelopment analysis, we disclose disparity in R&D productivity and underlying efficiency and technical change in regions in China, Europe, and in the USA in the period 2015–19. For provinces in China, industrial diversification affects regional R&D productivity growth and efficiency enhancement in a U-shape mode. For European countries, specialization has a U-shaped influence on R&D productivity change, and diversification has an inverted U-shaped influence on productivity and efficiency change. We find no significant influence of specialization and diversification on the improvement of R&D performance at the level of states in the USA. Our findings point to place-based specificities and complementarity between specialization and diversification and come with policy recommendations for enhancing regional R&D performance.

Keywords: regional R&D performance; Malmquist-based data envelopment analysis; Tobit model; diversification; specialization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:scippl:v:51:y:2024:i:6:p:1169-1184.

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