Agglomeration and Location of Foreign R&d Activities in the European Regions

This paper examines the recent siting of foreign-owned corporate technological development in European regions. The data used are patents granted in the US to the world's largest firms in the period 1987-‘95. According with the literature on knowledge creation in MNCs, we find that location of foreign-owned research tends to agglomerate, depending positively upon the potential for intraand inter-industry spillovers, and the local scientific and educational infrastructure. However, some differences do exist when considering different European countries, thus posing different challenges for individual Governments. Results obtained are consistent with the view that foreign subsidiaries could play an important role in the evolution and growth of the MNC.