Structural asymmetries, innovation measurement and innovation policies in the EU

Deep asymmetries in economic structures across EU member states became evident in the context of the recent crises in the eurozone. Notwithstanding, innovation policy analysis at the EU level tends to overlook these asymmetries. The use of innovation scoreboards – such as the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS) – as a main device for policy monitoring and benchmarking adds to the common tendency for one-size-fits-all approaches to innovation policy. In fact, the methodology underlying the construction of the IUS largely ignores the wide variety of economic structures among the countries under analysis. This article shows that once each country’s economic structure is considered the assessment of innovation strengths and weakness at the national level may change significantly. Policy recommendations may be improved accordingly.