Public Investment in R&D: Does public investment in R&D in lagging regions of the European Union have an impact on Innovation and GDP growth? If so, is it the most efficient mechanism to foster economic growth in these regions?

[From the Introduction]. In the early 1980s, awareness grew of the important role that R&D plays in the process of economic growth. As a result of this, both the policy makers and academia institutionalised the idea that "technological development had a significant impact on the growth in economic disparity between the regions in Europe" (European Commission, 1997:339). The relevance of technological development regarded as the engine of economic growth has recently been reinforced as the European Union (EU) under the special summit of Lisbon (March, 2000) declared that "over the next ten years, Europe should become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge society in the world, capable of sustainable economic development, accompanied by a quantitative and qualitative improvement in the level of employment, and greater social cohesion". This statement put research and development and technology as one of the key policies the EU should pursuit