Innovation cost presents major barrier to company growth in Europe

Countries such as Italy and Spain should prioritise investment in research and development to better allow businesses to grow, and improve their national economic performance, according to a study by a group of economists.

Reducing innovation costs also has a much greater effect on business growth than do trade incentives, and therefore governments should try to do that, argues the report — the last in a series of six written by a group of economists under the European Firms in a Global Economy (EFIGE) project. EFIGE was established to examine the patterns of internationalisation of European firms and is part funded by the EU Seventh Framework Programme.