Public R&D funding reinforces regional inequalities, study finds

Government funding for research and development reinforces regional inequalities across Europe, according to a study from the Centre for Innovation Research at the University of Stavanger in Norway.

Researchers already knew that private R&D funding exacerbates existing regional inequalities by pooling resources in scientific and industrial centres. Now, Norwegian economic geographer Rune Dahl Fitjar has found public funding does the same, with little sign of change.

The study suggests that public R&D money mainly goes to well-developed and capital regions, and that the gap between regions has not narrowed in recent decades. In contrast, there have been signs that differences in business R&D decreased between 2009 and 2018, as…