Innovation in Russia: the territorial dimension

Crescenzi, Riccardo and Jaax, Alexander (2016) Innovation in Russia: the territorial dimension. Economic Geography . ISSN 0013-0095

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Abstract

The debate on Russia’s innovation performance has paid little attention to the role of geography. This paper addresses this gap by integrating an evolutionary dimension in an ‘augmented’ regional knowledge production function framework to examine the territorial dynamics of knowledge creation in Russia. The empirical analysis identifies a strong link between regional R&D expenditure and patenting performance. However, R&D appears inadequately connected to regional human capital. Conversely, Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) play a fundamental role as ‘global knowledge pipelines’. The incorporation of historical variables reveals that the Russian case is a striking example of long-term pathdependency in regional patterns of knowledge generation. Endowment with Soviet-founded science cities remains a strong predictor of current patenting. However, current innovation drivers and policies also concur to enhance (or hinder) innovation performance in all regions. The alignment of regional innovation efforts, exposure to localised knowledge flows and injections of ‘foreign’ knowledge channelled by MNEs make path-renewal and pathcreation possible, opening new windows of locational opportunity.

Item Type:

Article

Official URL:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subject/code/GE2B/t...

Additional Information:

Library of Congress subject classification:

H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
T Technology > T Technology (General)

Journal of Economic Literature Classification System:

O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, and Changes
R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R12 - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade

Sets:

Departments > Geography and Environment
Collections > Economists Online

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