The Relationship between State Aid to R&D and Patent Applications in the Context of the European R&D Expenditure

The present paper aims at providing a contribution to the literature on public expenditure on R&D. According to the assumption that state aid to R&D can represent a relevant incentive for developing innovative activities, measured by patent applications, the paper provides an empirical analysis of state aid in the context of public expenditure to R&D in the EU. Based on empirical findings, the paper also proposes to establish general policy guidelines designed to improve the economic impact of public policies on R&D....