Patterns of innovation in the EU-25 regions: a typology and policy recommendations This paper depicts a typology of regions, capturing the diversity of regional innovation systems across the EU-25. Following the Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) literature, our research selects 21 variables related to the ability of a region to generate and absorb knowledge, and its capacity to transform R&D into innovation and economic growth. Based on the results of principal components and cluster analyses, we identify seven types of regional innovation system where the 186 regions group together according to their sectoral specialization, technological and economic capacity, and performance. By allowing us to identify similar and more advanced regions, the paper facilitates comparisons and benchmarking between homogeneous regions, thus enabling more accurate policy learning. For each group a number of policy recommendations are suggested, contingent to their local-specific characteristics. In short the contribution of this paper is twofold. In the first place it provides the first RIS typology for the EU-25 regions completed using a large number of variables. Secondly, the conclusions obtained from the analysis may be used to lead policymakers' actions in the field of regional innovation policy in the EU. Patrones regionales de innovación en la UE-25: tipología y recomendaciones de políticas

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The present paper assesses whether the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies can be related to backshoring. It does so by -firstly- investigating the implementation of such technologies by industrial firms with foreign production plants, the experiences and intentions of these firms regarding the location of production activities, and -secondly- by analyzing backshoring cases among them.It finds that backshoring is a rare phenomenon, and it is questionable whether there is a correlation, left alone causality, between the adoption of digital technologies in home-based manufacturing sites and backshoring hitherto. And while the future may hold more backshoring movements in store, they may not be primarily due to the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies at home-based plants. Instead, other (foreign) location-specific factors seem to have greater weight in the decision-making processes around backshoring operations. I.e., deteriorating sales forecasts in offshore places where firms have production activities, increases in institutional uncertainty in such places, rationalization of global production apparatuses, and/or a lack of possibilities to deploy foreign manufacturing activities and output for third markets. Also against the backdrop of events like the outbreak of Covid19 and the uncertainty-raising effect it has on international business, the trade-off between producing off-shore or bringing manufacturing activities back home is not likely to depend on technology adoption levels at home and abroad either.

This paper highlights the role of typologies for the analysis and policy-making related to regional innovation systems (RIS), explains the two main ways to develop RIS typologies (based on case studies and on statistical analysis) and makes an inventory of the existing typologies. Then it shows the main findings of a recent research done by the authors to obtain an innovation typology for the EU-25 regions and a brand new typology for the Spanish regions, as well as the position of Catalonia in those typologies and with regard to the other advanced Spanish regions. Finally, the paper explores the consequences of elaborating typologies based on statistical analysis with data coming from sources such as Eurostat, which do not provide information about key aspects of a RIS, such as the cooperation among regional agents, the regional governments' support, the regions' openness and so on. The main conclusion is that, even though not considering variables related to those key issues, the typologies obtained with available data are quite stable and would not change very much by incorporating variables that act as proxies for the missing aspects of a RIS.