Europe's R&D: missing the wrong targets?

Publishing date: 03 February 2008
Authors: Bruno van Pottelsberghe

In this Policy Brief, Bruno van Pottelsbergh addresses two challenges: First, Europe is failing to live up to the target set in the Lisbon agenda to increase public and private-funded investment in R&D to 3 percent of GDP. Can Europe catch up? Second, since countries have different industrial specialisations, do targets for business funded R&D investment make any economic sense?

About the authors

Bruno van Pottelsberghe

Bruno van Pottelsberghe joined Bruegel as a Senior Resident Fellow in November 2007. His research for Bruegel focuses on the effectiveness of several policy tools (R&D subsidies, R&D tax credits, intellectual property, public research and regulatory policies) aimed at stimulating innovation in Europe.

He was the Chief Economist of the European Patent Office (EPO) from November 2005 to the end of 2007. Since 1999 he has been a professor at the Brussels University (U.L.B.). As holder of the Solvay S.A. Chair of Innovation, he teaches courses related to the economics and management of innovation and intellectual property.

He is also an adviser of the President and the Rector of the U.L.B. for technology transfer issues.