EU-US differences in the size of R&D intensive firms: do they explain the overall R&D intensity gap?

摘要

The average firm size of the top R&D investors among US-based companies is smaller than that of the EU-based firms. Does this help to explain why the US has a greater R&D intensity, or is the greater firm size in the EU, just as its lower R&D intensity, determined by the sectors in which the top R&D investors are operating? Using data from the 2006 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, the size differential between EU and US R&D performers is more closely examined. Despite great differences between sectors, the overall distribution of R&D investments by companies in both economies is remarkably similar, as opposed to the distribution of the R&D/sales ratios.