ZEW Economic Studies. Publication Series of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, Germany

Transcription

1 ZEW Economic Studies Publication Series of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, Germany

2 ZEW Economic Studies Vol. 1: O. Hohmeyer. K. Rennings (Eds.) Man-Made Climate Change Economic Aspects and Policy Options VIII, 401 pp. ISBN Vol. 2: Th. Btittner Agglomeration, Growth, and Adjustment A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Regional Labor Markets in Germany XI, 206 pp. ISBN Vol. 3: P. Capros et a1. Climate Technology Strategies 1 Controlling Greenhouse Gases. Policy and Technology Options XVIII, 365 pp. ISBN Vol. 4: P. Capros et a1. Climate Technology Strategies 2 The Macro-Economic Cost and Benefit of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the European Union XIII. 224 pp. ISBN Vol. 5: P. A. Puhani Evaluating Active Labour Market Policies Empirical Evidence for Poland During Transition XVI, 239 pp. ISBN X Vol. 6: B. Fitzenberger Wages and Employment Across Skill Groups An Analysis for West Germany XII, 251 pp. ISBN Vol. 7: K. Rennings et a1. (Eds.) Social Costs and Sustainable Mobility Strategies and Experiences in Europe and the United States VI, 212 pp. ISBN

3 H. Legler G. Licht A. Spielkamp Germany's Technological Performance A Study on Behalf of the Gennan Federal Ministry of Education and Research With 31 Figures and 28 Tables Physica-Verlag A Springer-Verlag Company ZEW Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH Centre for European Economic Research

4 Series Editor Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Franz Autho~ Dr. Harald Legler Niedersachsisches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung (NIW) Schiffgraben Hannover Germany Dr. Georg Licht Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) L7. I Mannheim Germany Prof. Dr. Alfred Spielkamp Fachhochschule Ge1senkirchen Instill.Jt zur Forderung von Innovation und Existenzgriindung Neidenburger Sir Gelsenkirchen Germany ISBN-13: Physica-Verlag Heidelberg Ca(aloging-in-Publica(ion DM3 applied for Di~ Dc\usche Bibtimh~k - ClP-Einheit.'3ufnahme Gennany s Technotogicat P~ rformanc~ I ZEW. Zemrum rur Europliischc Winschaftsforschung GmhH. liarald legl~r ei al. - H eid~lberg; New York ; Physica -V~r l (ZEW economic studi~s; Vol. 8) ISBN 13: I e ISBN.I):978 ) ClI: IO.IOO7f S9roS-CI This work is subjec( (0 copyright. All righl' are re:;crved. whether th~ whole or part of the ma(~rial is concerned. specifically the rights of translation. reprinting. reu,., of iuusuations. recila(ion. broadcasting. reproduction on microfilm or in any Olher way. and stornge in data banh. Duplication of thi s publication or pans thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9. 1<)65. in ils current version. and pennission for u:;c mus( always be obtained from Physica Vcrlug. Violations an: liable for prosecution under the German Copyrigh( Law. Physica.Verlag S erlin Heidelberg New York a member of BencismanllSpringer Science+Busin~.. Media GmbH o Physica.verlag lieidelberg 2000 The use of general descriptive nam,", registered names. trademarks. ete. in thi. publication does not imply, even ill the absence of a specific stalement. (hat such names art' exempt fmm the r ele~am prolc<:(ive laws and regulations and therefore free for general u:;c. Co~cr design: Eri ch Dichiser. ZEW. Mannheim SPIN /2202_ I 0 Printed _ on acid free paper

5 Preface Maintaining the innovation capabilities of firms, employees and institutions is a key component for the generation of sustainable growth, employment, and high income in industrial societies. Gaining insights into the German innovation system and the institutional framework is as important to policy making as is data on the endowment of the German economy with factors fostering innovation and their recent development. Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research has repeatedly commissioned reports on the competitive strength of the German innovation system since the mid-eighties. The considerable attention that the public and the political, administrative and economic actors have paid to these reports in the past few years proves the strong interest in the assessment of and indicators for the dynamics behind innovation activities. The present study closely follows the pattern of those carried out before. It has been extended, however, to include an extensive discussion on indicators for technological performance and an outline of the key features of the German innovation system. This book results from the joint endeavour of a number of researchers who prepared background reports on various topics which provide data, a thorough interpretation of facts and conclusions. These background papers were presented and discussed in several workshops during the second half of The researchers who contributed to the reports and discussions on the topics summarized in this book are: Marian Beise, Martin Falk, Georg Licht, FriedheIm Pfeiffer, Alfred Spielkamp at the Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim, Heike Belitz, Alfred Haid, Brigitte Preissl, Dieter Schumacher at the Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin, Angela Hullmann, Andre Jungmittag, Thomas Reiss, Ulrich Schmoch at the Fraunhofer Institut fur System- und Innovationsforschung (lsi), Karlsruhe, Birgit Gehrke, Harald Legler, Manfred Steincke at the Niedersachsisches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung (NIW), Hannover, Christoph Grenzmann, SV -Wissenschaftsstatistik im Stifterverband flir die deutsche Wissenschaft (SV -WiStat), Essen, Steven Casper, Mark Lehrer, Lars-Hendrik Roller, David Soskice at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), Berlin. The background papers for this report were prepared by the research team at the NIW on R&D activities of the German industry in international comparison, R&D-intensive industries in Germany, Know-how-intensive services in Germany,

6 VI Preface international trade in R&D-intensive goods and environmental protection goods, the technological competitiveness of "newly industrialized countries", and the use of human capital in industry. DIW's researchers contributed to the international comparison of non-physical investment, R&D activities in the service sector, industry distribution of R&D activities in industrialized countries, unit values in international trade with R&D-intensive products. The research group at the ZEW prepared papers on innovation activities in German manufacturing and service industries, the role of services in the "national innovation system", and the use and accumulation of human capital and start-ups in high-tech industries. lsi provided background documents on the patent activity in international comparison and emerging industrialized countries, structural trends in patent output, the performance of government-funded R&D facilities and recent trends in selected industries (e.g. medical instruments, pharmaceuticals) as well as in selected hightechnology areas (e.g. microsystem technology). SV -WiStat contributed a paper on recent developments of R&D in Germany. The team at WZB prepared case studies on biotechnology and software as well as a paper on the German institutional framework for innovation in international comparision. Marian Beise from ZEW and Heike Belitz from DIW delivered background material on the global R&D networks of companies in Germany. The chapter on innovation policy is based on a background document entitled "areas for action for future innovation policy" jointly written by researchers of DIW, lsi, NIW and ZEW. Georg Licht, Alfred Spielkamp (ZEW, Mannheim) and Harald Legler (NIW. Hannover) developed the final report based on the background papers. However. the report should be viewed best as the result of a joint endeavour of the whole group of researchers. Therefore, we have to thank all team members for the preparation of excellent background documents, stimulating discussions and insightful comments on various drafts of the report. Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to Barbel Kahn-Neetix, Johannes VeIling, and especially to Engelbert Beyer from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for their encouragement during the process of writing the report and for stimulating discussions which help to focus the report on innovation policy issues. However, the opinion expressed in this report is the sole responsibility of the authors. Sarah Zimmer translated the whole report into English. We owe many thanks to her for making the translation process go smoothly. Our special thanks go to Thomas Eckert and Dominik ErJebach (ZEW) as well as to Veronika Machate WeiB (NIW) for doing a excellent job formating and laying out text, tables and figures. Of course, all remaining shortcomings are our own responsibility. Mannheim, Hannover, Januar 2000 Harald Legler, Georg Licht, Alfred Spielkamp

7 Contents Part I Introduction and Overview Part II Summary 5 Part III Challenges to and Precepts for Effective Education, Research and Innovation Policies 23 Part IV Measurement and Interpretation of Germany's Technological Performance Basic Concepts Indicators and the innovation system National innovation systems and their institutional framework - 43 an introduction National innovation systems Distinctive characteristics of the German innovation system Questions yet to be answered 53 2 Industrial Specialization in Germany Germany's industrial structure in international comparison Characteristics of Germany's industrial specialization in detail Generic technologies J Biotechnology and software Microsystem technology Environmental technology 72

8 VIII Contents 3 Innovation in the Service Sector and Competitive Strength Interaction between industry and the service sector Innovative services and competitive strength Summary 85 4 Indicators for Germany's Technological Performance The short-term perspective - industrial innovation and inter- 87 national technology markets in the midst of cyclical expansion nventions nnovation activity Export activity in R&D-intensive industries Production and employment in the R&D-intensive sector Employment in know-how-intensive services The medium-term perspective - investment in the near future Research and development nvestment in capital goods in the R&D-intensive sector Company start-ups and closures The long-term perspective - education, science and research Trends in skill requirements Education efforts Science and research Summary 142

9 Contents IX 5 Observations Regarding Special Topics Technological competition and Central and Eastern Europe's 145 countries in transition 5.2 The catching-up process in Germany's new Lander Selected fields of technology - competitive positions at risk? 159 Appendix 167 Abbreviations 181 List of Charts 1 85 List of Tables 187 Bibliography 189