Regional R&D activities and interactions in the Swedish Triple Helix

The Swedish innovation system is analysed in terms of the interaction between academia, government and the private sector. For each of 21 Swedish regions we analyse the distribution of research activities, doctoral employment, and publication output, as well as the flow of doctoral graduates and the distribution of co-authorship links across regions and sectors. The three main urban regions have about 75 percent of all R&D activities and outputs. They also have a more balanced supply of academic, governmental and private research activities than the smaller regions, and the interactions among sectors within these regions are more intense. The inter-regional flow of PhDs is also to the advantage of the big regions. So far, decentralization of the academic sector does not seem to have had as similar decentralizing effect on private R&D. Unless this imbalance changes, smaller regions will continue to be net exporters of skill and knowledge to the big regions.