One size does not fit all… An economic development perspective on the asymmetric impact of Patents on R&D

Innovation is the building block of competitive advantages and thus economic policies are increasingly focused on creating stimulus to increase a country’s innovative performance and growth potential, namely through knowledge accumulation in general and R&D in particular. In this context, current policy trend seems to support the strengthening of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), in particular, patent protection, with the argument that positive effects will emerge and would be extensive to all countries regardless their level of development. In this paper we question this “one size fits all” policy and assess how patent thicket affects knowledge productive investment taking into account countries’ development levels. Based on a panel of 95 countries over a ten-year period (1997-2006), our results show that patents have asymmetric impacts across countries development stages, evidencing pervious effects on technological leaders and positive ones on some laggards. Such evidence sustains that innovation policies be adjusted to countries development stages.growth models; R&D; patents; economic development

Does Patenting negatively impact on R&D investment?An international panel data assessment

Although the conventional R&D-patents relationship is a long stand and relatively undisputed issue within the innovation literature, the reverse causality, in particular, the potential for a negative impact of patents over R&D has only recently received wide attention boosting interesting (mainly) theoretical debates. The macroeconomic perspective on this issue, however, remains largely unexplored. In fact, no evidence exists that ruled out the possibility of asymmetric effects of patents on R&D in accordance to the level of GDP in general, and to ‘convergence clubs’ in particular. Using panel data estimation methods on a sample of 88 countries, over an eight-year period (1996-2003), and controlling for clubs of convergence to account for differences on countries’ stages of economic development, we found mix support to the negativity of patent on R&D investment. The accumulated patents positively impact on R&D intensity for the set of less developed countries whereas no statistically significant effect emerges in the case of higher developed converge clubs; restricting the highest developed convergence club down to countries with a R&D intensity above 3%, the negativity reverse causality arises, corroborating the asymmetric impact of patents on R&D investment. We further demonstrate that albeit causality appears to be stronger in the most intuitive appealing traditional direction, evidence supports the theoretical conveyed double causality between R&D and Patent.Patents; R&D; panel data; convergence clubs

Searching for clusters in tourism. A quantitative methodological proposal

The tourism industry is one of Europe’s leading employers, and for many regions highly dependent on tourists’ spending, innovation is the difference between growth and stagnation. Thus, at a regional level, tourism may function as a driving force of socioeconomic development and thus contribute to the demise of regional disparities. Such lever effect is usually associated to a geographical concentration abusively denominated of clusters. Most of the studies within the tourism industry identify clusters resorting to simplistic analyses of geographic location measures or experts’ opinions. These latter tend to neglect the essence of the cluster concept, namely the inter-linkages among regional actors. In the present paper, we propose a methodology to rigorously identify tourism clusters, stressing the importance of networks and cooperation between agents.Clusters; Tourism; Methodology

A model of the learning process with local knowledge externalities illustrated with an integrated graphical framework

In this paper we present a theoretical model of the learning process with knowledge externalities to R&D and other learning inputs within a region, a technological district, an industry or a technological cluster with fast rates of accumulation of new technological knowledge. As there are several definitions of localized technological and learning opportunities (according to the technical space, or to the regional space) and of localized technological knowledge, we can therefore find several possible applications to the generic model. The analysis of the learning firm interacting with a specific region in the production of new technological knowledge is just one of them. The analytical model we develop is amenable to a graphical representation. Thus we provide in the first place a unifying graphical framework, consisting of a four-quadrant picture to analyze the process of knowledge accumulation by learning firms located and operating in a specific region or industry, which simultaneously stresses the nature of the basic learning process and the importance of true knowledge spillovers in the generation of new knowledge. We adopt the following approach to the construction of spillover stocks or pools. First, the magnitude of the state of aggregate knowledge in a region or industry is reconstructed through the historic accumulation of flows of knowledge. Thus, the aggregate level of knowledge can always be updated after every learning loop, or at every moment of discrete time, whose unit of measurement we might assume at the outset of our analysis. Secondly, every firm within a region or industry is treated symmetrically regarding spillover effects and magnitudes. Such statement meaning that the amount of aggregate knowledge borrowed from any available source, either the region or industry under analysis or some other distant region or industry, is regarded as the same by every firm. And finally, we model both the loss of appropriation of benefits from innovation and the distance between different technological bases or regional sources in terms of single parameters, or instantaneous rates of growth, weighting respectively the leakage and the absorption intensities of flows and stocks of knowledge. Several theoretical predictions about the direction and magnitude of the knowledge spillovers can therefore be deducted from parametric changes in the leakage and absorption functions of our model arising from, among other things: - Improvements in information technology and falling communication costs observed in the economic system at general. - Improvements in technological communication systems within specific technological districts. - The establishment of explicit cooperative relations and effective access to the pool of collective knowledge, or instead any improvements of the mutuality and trust conditions, within the group of firms located and operating within a specific region. - The increasing of competitive pressures, or the working of any other mechanism for lowering the appropriation of a firm’s gains from innovation, in an array of industrial sectors. One interesting theoretical result is then derived from our full model. With such purpose in mind, we consider first the existence of a relevant competitive situation where appropriation and communication are both dependent upon the number of receiving and sending firms within the region. Whereas the amount of technological leakage per firm increases with the number of firms effectively operating within the region, ceteris paribus; the extent of absorption per firm also increases with the number of firms effectively communicating within the region, ceteris paribus. Apparently, there is a trade-off between such appropriation conditions and communication conditions. In the long-run, the addition of firms eventually exhausts the net positive effects of taking part in an effective network, and so we can establish an equilibrium number of firms operating in the region.

Integrated graphical framework accounting for the nature and the speed of the learning process: an application to MNEs strategies of internationalisation of production and R&D investment

Existing illustrations of the learning phenomenon either stress the relationship between flows and stocks, neglecting the chronological time variable, or the speed of knowledge accumulation along time, neglecting the nature of the underlying learning process. In this paper we present a graphical depiction stressing, in an explicit way, both the nature of interplay between flows and stocks and the intensity of the learning process. The four-quadrant graphs that we develop overcome considerable simplification in literature by deriving, by construction, a measure of dynamic gains of knowledge following the interplay of stock of scientific and technological knowledge and the flow of effort in R&D. This scheme is then applied to study the internationalisation of production and R&D, which are strategies followed by multinational firms. Two types of innovation – process innovation and product innovation – are therefore studied constructing, in each case, an industry performance measure adequately indexed to the cumulated knowledge stock at a given moment in time. In any case, the dynamic efficiency measure adopted naturally takes into account both the absolute changes in the technology indexes and the time delays to reach them, which are properly discounted. Regarding multinationals strategies - internationalisation of production and R&D investment -, we begin with the question of finding a new location for using a now well developed production technology, and then deal with the problem of selecting a region of excellence in research to take gains of concentration advantages and local externalities.Learning; knowledge; technology; R&D; MNEs

Variações morfométricas de Coprophanaeus saphirinus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) em áreas da Mata Atlântica em diferentes estágios sucessionais

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Biologia.Os besouros Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) têm sido sugeridos como indicadores da qualidade ambiental por apresentarem sensibilidade à degradação no hábitat e participarem de importantes serviços ambientais, ao enterrar dentro de túneis porções de fezes e carniças com as quais se alimentam. A maioria das espécies apresenta dimorfismo sexual. A biomassa incorporada nos indivíduos adultos está diretamente relacionada com a quantidade e qualidade do recurso alimentar disponível durante seu período larval. Evidências da diminuição da biomassa e do tamanho corporal se relacionam com tamanhos menores de estruturas secundárias (chifres) em machos. Neste trabalho, foram realizadas análises morfométricas de Coprophanaeus saphirinus (Sturm, 1826), para compreender a resposta da população frente à modificação ambiental de diferentes estágios sucessionais em três áreas da Mata Atlântica. Para tanto, foram comparados os parâmetros de abundância, razão sexual, variações fenotípicas dos machos, além da variação biométrica do comprimento do corpo e do peso seco e biomassa total dos indivíduos. Adultos de C. saphirinus provinham de quatro coletas realizadas com metodologia padronizada durante os anos de 2009 e 2010 em Unidades de Conservação do Estado de Santa Catarina. Foram analisados 159 espécimes e os resultados mostraram que tanto a abundância, a razão sexual e as variações fenotípicas dos machos nas três áreas não tiveram associação com o estágio sucessional. As variações biométricas do comprimento do corpo e do peso seco dos indivíduos mostraram que as fêmeas foram maiores somente em uma das áreas. Não houve diferença significativa no tamanho do corpo dos espécimes oriundos dos diferentes estágios sucessionais, bem como associação entre biomassa total de machos e de fêmeas. Os resultados mostram que os indivíduos que compõem a população de C. saphirinus (machos e fêmeas ou variações fenotípicas de machos) não apresentam comportamentos distintos em relação às áreas de Mata Atlântica em diferentes estágios sucessionais.Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) have been suggested as biological indicators of environmental quality by presenting sensitivity to changes in environment and participate in important environmental services, burying in tunnels portions of feces and carcasses in which they feed. Most of the species shows sexual dimorphism and the biomass incorporated in adults is directly related to the quantity and quality of food resources available during their larval period. Evidence of reduced biomass and smaller body sizes are related with smaller secondary structures (horns) in males. In this study, we performed morphometric analyzes of the species Coprophanaeus saphirinus (Sturm, 1826) to understand the response of the population to environmental changes in different successional stages in three areas of the Atlantic Forest. For this, we compared the parameters of abundance, sex ratio of male phenotypic variations, and biometric variation in body length, dry weight and total biomass of individuals. The specimens measured were from four samples collected with standardized methodology in 2009 and 2010 in Protected Areas of Santa Catarina state. We analyzed 159 specimens and the results showed that abundance, sex ratio and phenotypic variation in males in the three areas were not associated with the successional stage. The biometrical variations in body length and dry weight of the individuals showed that females were larger only in one area, but no significant difference were found in body size of specimens from different successional stages, just as there was no association between total biomass of males and females. These results show that individuals in the population of C. saphirinus (males and females or phenotypic variation for males) do not exhibit different behaviors in relation to the areas of Atlantic Forest in different successional stages

A Model of the Learning Process with Local Knowledge Externalities Illustrated with an Integrated Graphical Framework

We present a unified graphical framework accounting for the nature and impact of spillover effects. The dynamics of the learning process with a specific spillover transfer mechanism can be illustrated by recurring to this four-quadrant picture. In particular, a whole cycle of technological learning is explained with help of such a graphical representation of the basic learning process in the presence of knowledge spillovers. We hypothesize two different functional specifications of spillover exchanges among firms within a local innovation system. Each conceivable shape for the knowledge transfer relationship among firms expresses a possible mode and intensity of information processing arising from technology spillovers. A general proposition regarding the relative efficiency of the two alternative formal models with spillovers effects is derived. The basic models with spillover effects are then extended in several relevant directions.Learning; knowledge; technology spillovers; knowledge externalities; local innovation systems

Conversational Interactive Recommendation

When we search for something online, sometimes we know what we want, but we do not know how to exactly describe it. To address this challenge, this thesis presents a framework based on reinforcement learning, which improves conversational assistants in order to get closer to the user’s desired product by asking a sequence of clarifying questions and giving recommendations. These clarifying questions are chosen before each interaction, in real-time, and are capable of narrowing down the search space, helping the user finding what he wants. In order for the assistant to decide which clarifying question to use, its neural network needs some information about the recommendation conversation. After the selection of the question, the assistant generates the question using a template, which might need some recommended products. Having generated the question, the assistant presents it to the user and gets his answer, from which extracts some information to update the recommendation conversation history. This framework can be served as a module inside projects and lets the recommendation conversation to evolve in various directions: minimizing the number of interactions, minimizing the repetitiveness of used questions and minimizing the repetitiveness of used questions according to their feedback times.Quando pesquisamos algo online, às vezes sabemos o que queremos, mas não sabe- mos como descrevê-lo exatamente. Para enfrentar este desafio, esta tese introduz uma framework baseada em aprendizagem por reforço, que melhora os assistentes de conversa- ção para se aproximarem do produto desejado pelo utilizador, através de uma sequência de perguntas esclarecedoras e dando recomendações. Estas perguntas esclarecedoras são escolhidas antes de cada interação, em tempo real, e são capazes de diminuir o espaço de procura, ajudando o utilizador a encontrar o que deseja. Para que o assistente decida qual pergunta esclarecedora usar, a sua rede neural precisa de algumas informações sobre a conversa de recomendação. Após a seleção da pergunta, o assistente gera a pergunta usando um template, que pode precisar de alguns produtos para recomendar. Gerada a pergunta, o assistente apresenta-a ao utilizador e obtém a resposta, da qual extrai algumas informações para atualizar o histórico da conversa de recomendação. Esta framework pode ser usada como um módulo em projetos e permite que a con- versa de recomendação evolua de várias formas: minimizando o número de interações, minimizando a repetitividade das perguntas usadas e minimizando a repetitividade das perguntas usadas de acordo com os tempos de feedback