Spatial Dimensions of Regional Innovativeness in Romania

Abstract

This paper contains the analysis of regional innovation performance in the NUTS 2 regions of Romania, based on the European Innovation Scoreboard evaluation for 2011 and 2019, and the identification of the most significant influencing factors of county-level R&D activity, for the 1997–2018 period. The Regional Innovation Index (RII) provides a profound characterization for Romanian regions regarding their innovation performance, which was studied using the GIS (Geographic Information System) methodology in relation with the regional R&D activity, GDP per capita, and entrepreneurship innovation. In the following, the Romanian R&D activity is analysed at the county level. The influencing factors of R&D expenditures and employment in Romanian counties were studied based on two panel regression models and using exogenous variables, for economic development, entrepreneurship, education, and infrastructure.

Keywords

• regional innovation
• geographic information system
• entrepreneurship innovation