Innovation and economic growth in old and new member states of the European Union

Abstract

This study examines the innovation–growth nexus in the European Union (EU) countries over the period 1993–2011. The system generalised method of moments estimator was used to test whether patent activities and different research and development (R&D) outlays affect economic growth in the old (EU-15) and new (EU-13) member states differently. The authors have found no significant impact of R&D on the growth and positive relationship between patent activities and growth in the EU-13. The results suggest that there may be no single recipe for growth for the EU and raise the question of whether setting common numerical targets in the EU innovation policy makes economic sense.