Spatio-temporal Analysis of Patent Activity for European Union Regions

The article is concerned with the research of patent activity reflecting the innovativeness activity at regional level. The study used data from Eurostat covering the regions of the European Union and the years 1999-2012. As the main determinants of changes in the level of patent activity identified were the following: human resources as measured by R&D personnel; researchers employed in this sector and human resources in science and technology; and the financial factor in the form of gross expenditure on R&D. The aim of the study was to identify the level of patent activity and to identify innovation potential at regional level. The study used a spatio-temporal model with fixed effects and error correction mechanism. The approach allows to indicate the regularities in aggregate terms on the one hand, and the differentiation of results depending on the assignment planning on the other. Moreover, the design error indicates a short-term and long-term relationships and convergence - or lack thereof - in relation to a hypothetical equilibrium point. The results indicate and determine the size of key differences between patent activity in the studied regions, as well as provide direction for further research of innovation of regions. The results confirmed not only the foundation of a strong differentiation of patent activity as a feature in their own region but also pointed out the similarities in the effects of these same factors (in different conditions) on the patent activity in the short and long term.