Abstract Detailed information on research and development (R&D) spending of the private sector is very limited, particularly when the interest is on small and medium enterprises or focuses on companies active in multiple technology areas. This lack of data poses challenges on the robustness of quantitative analyses and, as a consequence, on the reliability of evidences needed, for example, to support policy-makers in policy design. This paper proposes a patent-based method to estimate R&D expenditure in the private sector. This approach is then applied to assess private R&D spending in Europe in the context of climate change mitigation technologies. Findings show that R&D strategies in Europe are both country and technology dependent. Furthermore, R&D budget does not easily flow across national borders, but, when it is allocated to other countries, it is mainly done because of geographic or technological proximity.

中文翻译：

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通过专利数据评估欧洲用于减缓气候变化技术的私人研发支出

摘要 关于私营部门研发 (R&D) 支出的详细信息非常有限，特别是当关注中小型企业或专注于活跃于多个技术领域的公司时。数据的缺乏对定量分析的稳健性提出了挑战，因此，对所需证据的可靠性提出了挑战，例如，支持政策制定者进行政策设计。本文提出了一种基于专利的方法来估算私营部门的研发支出。然后，在减缓气候变化技术的背景下，这种方法被应用于评估欧洲的私人研发支出。调查结果表明，欧洲的研发战略既依赖于国家，也依赖于技术。此外，研发预算不容易跨越国界，但是，