Why Southern Mediterranean Countries Fail To Innovate?

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the factors that influence research investment in the Mediterranean region. We used a robust fixed effects model to analysis a panel of 22 countries for the period 2000-2012. The results showed that the FDI, the high technology export, the human capital devoted to research, intermediate and final production sectors, are significant and stimulate the Southern innovative capacity. The private R&D is a substitution to public R&D. The private returns exceed its social returns to R&D since Southern governments don’t invest too much like private firms in the innovative activities. The role of foreign institutions and international organizations is almost nonexistent in financing the southern research investments. The salaries don’t motivate the researchers and Scientifics since it has a negative effect on the R&D. The imports, the active population, the inflation, the technology infrastructure, the patent production have no effective contributions to the investment in the R&D in the Southern Mediterranean countries.