Indicators of technological activities — comparing educational, patent and R & D statistics in the case of Sweden

摘要

This paper explores the use of R & D, patent and educational data as technology indicators. Based on Swedish data, we compare what these indicators tell us about (a) the distribution of innovative activity between large and small firms and (b) the technological competence of a set of firms. We conclude that R & D data probably not only overstate the concentration of technological activities to larger firms but also understate the total technological activities by underplaying the role of small manufacturing firms and service sector firms. Moreover, we find that, in some instances, educational data may capture the character and the diversity of firms' technological competence better than patents do. The combined use of educational and patent data should allow us to capture both the fullness of the breadth of the technology base and the precise orientation of the technological efforts of firms.