Introduction to a special issue: New insights on EU-US comparison of corporate R&D

Policy-makers have become increasingly aware that corporate R&D and innovation are the main drivers of an economy's competitiveness and growth. The widespread adoption of R&D targets has led researchers and analysts to pursue a deeper understanding of corporate R&D investment trends, drivers and impacts. This paper focuses on the main differences between the EU and the US in corporate R&D performance, and has three objectives: to review the literature on this subject, to introduce the papers in this special issue, and to discuss the possible implications for policy.