Abstract:

This paper examines Greek innovation in relation to its geography, relying on the theoretical and empirical argument that economic activity concentrates geographically because of scale and proximity effects and that innovation is an important and motivating factor for its clustering. Empirical research shows that economic and innovative activities tend to concentrate spatially, and over time a pattern of geographical concentration of production and innovative activities will occur. However, empirical research also suggests that there are differences in spatial concentration of both innovative and economic activities, both across regions and branches of industry. Particularly for innovative activities, they tend to concentrated in few industrial sectors and technological fields.

The analysis that follows studies the geography of Greek innovation, aiming at identifying spatial differences and highlighting regions of better performance, using Greek patent records, which have been collected for a period 23 years (1988-2010). The paper puts more light into an area that has been little studied in Greece. Based on the geographical origin of patent owners we confirm the theoretical and empirical argument of both concentration and importance of few regions and cities. Results show that Greek innovation is geographically concentrated in few Greek regions and particularly in their ‘dominant’ regional entities and then capital cities. These regions and cities are at the same time the major economic, industrial and commercial centers, while most of Greeks live there. Results also show the esixtence of few exceptions, which are related to specific national features and peculiarities of the Greek case.