Title: University knowledge production and industrial innovation: the evidence

Authors: Robert Premus

Addresses: Department of Economics, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA

Abstract: Universities can have the largest impact on regional economic growth by excelling in advanced research and by augmenting the region|s stock of human capital. The combination of growth in the stocks of knowledge and human capital offer increasing returns in the region|s knowledge production system and in the commercialisation of inventions. A survey of high technology company executives suggests that high-tech firms are drawn to quality university environments in order to gain better access to graduating students and to faculty research. An argument is presented to show that basic science research at universities is taking on added significance in the regional economic growth process, rather than being rendered obsolete by the shift in the loci of advanced research towards private research centres, corporate R&D, research hospitals, government laboratories and think tanks.

Keywords: university research; technology transfer; commercialisation of research; knowledge production; regional economic growth; high-tech location factors; industrial innovation; knowledge spillovers; human capital.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2003.003170

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2003 Vol.2 No.3, pp.263-273

Published online: 13 Jul 2003 *

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