From Ideas to Development: The Determinants of R&D and Patenting

This paper uses panel regressions to investigate the effects of innovation policies and framework factors on business R&D intensity and patenting for a sample of 20 OECD countries over the period 1982-2001. Both sets of factors are found to matter; the main determinants of innovativeness appear to be the availability of scientists and engineers, research conducted in the public sector (including universities), business-academic links, the degree of product market competition, a high level of financial development and access to foreign inventions.