A RESEARCH ON THE SPATIAL DIFFERENCE OF INNOVATION IN KOREA
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Authors: Seongho Han, Moonsik Kim
Keywords: regional innovation, R&D investment, R&D performance, Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI)
Abstract: The topic of regional innovation difference among regions is a very old and important issue in Korea. This study examines the difference in innovation performance among regions and how they have changed. We chose patent applications as a single indicator of innovation performance. Following the review of the differences in innovation performance, the effects by R&D investment variable and R&D personnel variable were analyzed. First of all, 16 regions in Korea were divided into several groups for the convenience of analysis in identifying whether there is a difference in regional innovation performance. In order to understand the effects of R&D investment variable and R&D personnel variable on innovation performance, the analysis was conducted using an index decomposition method (LMDI: Log Mean Divisia Index). As a result of the time series trend of the difference in innovation performance among regions, it was found that there has been a significant difference among groups and that it has been decreased. As a result of analyzing the effects of R&D investment variable and R&D personnel variable on the difference in innovation performance among regional groups, we may find that scale effect is stronger than the other two factors in all groups in both. In relation to R&D investment and personnel variable it is an efficiency factor that shows negative signs especially in group1 which is the metropolitan area with the highest R & D capability. Increasing scale in the point of both R&D investment and R&D personnel is a key policy tool to narrow the gap of regional innovation performance.