Is Europe Evolving Toward an Integrated Research Area?

TL;DR

This study quantitatively assesses the impact of EU integration policies on European R&D collaboration and mobility using network analysis of patent and publication data from 1986 to 2010, finding limited integration beyond global trends.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive quantitative evaluation of EU policies' effectiveness in fostering integration in European research and innovation systems.

Findings

Limited increase in cross-border patenting and publishing within Europe.

Europe remains predominantly composed of national innovation systems.

EU integration policies have had minimal impact beyond global trends.

Abstract

An integrated European Research Area (ERA) is a critical component for a more competitive and open European R&D system. However, the impact of EU-specific integration policies aimed at overcoming innovation barriers associated with national borders is not well understood. Here we analyze 2.4 x 10^6 patent applications filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) over the 25-year period 1986-2010 along with a sample of 2.6 x 10^5 records from the ISI Web of Science to quantitatively measure the role of borders in international R&D collaboration and mobility. From these data we construct five different networks for each year analyzed: (i) the patent co-inventor network, (ii) the publication co-author network, (iii) the co-applicant patent network, (iv) the patent citation network, and (v) the patent mobility network. We use methods from network science and econometrics to perform a comparative analysis across time and between EU and non-EU countries to determine the "treatment effect" resulting from EU integration policies. Using non-EU countries as a control set, we provide quantitative evidence that, despite decades of efforts to build a European Research Area, there has been little integration above global trends in patenting and publication. This analysis provides concrete evidence that Europe remains a collection of national innovation systems.