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Evaluating the Impact of Status Changes in Higher Education Institutions on Swedish Regional Innovation

Said, Astrid LU (2025) EOSK12 20251
Department of Economic History
Abstract
As the drive to find sustainable and technological solutions to ongoing global problems becomes increasingly urgent, implementing timely innovation is needed now more than ever. The concept of regional innovation systems has recently gained popularity as a recipe for innovation and increasing knowledge transfer on a smaller scale. Specifically, the role of education in regional innovation systems has been acknowledged, but the impacts remain nuanced. Over the years, Sweden experienced notable education reforms, which granted university status to previously established colleges. Sweden, which ranks high on the Global Innovation Index (GII), serves as an interesting case study to connect the effect of these institutional status changes with... (More)
As the drive to find sustainable and technological solutions to ongoing global problems becomes increasingly urgent, implementing timely innovation is needed now more than ever. The concept of regional innovation systems has recently gained popularity as a recipe for innovation and increasing knowledge transfer on a smaller scale. Specifically, the role of education in regional innovation systems has been acknowledged, but the impacts remain nuanced. Over the years, Sweden experienced notable education reforms, which granted university status to previously established colleges. Sweden, which ranks high on the Global Innovation Index (GII), serves as an interesting case study to connect the effect of these institutional status changes with increased innovation output. To explore this, a Synthetic Difference-in-Difference model is developed to examine how upgrading university status impacts the number of patent applications at the county level. Findings reveal an initial negative shock in patent applications after university status is granted, which to some extent diverges from the existing body of literature. Still, this study implores meaningful insights that motivate policymakers to implement effective innovation policies at the regional level. (Less)
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author
Said, Astrid LU
supervisor
organization
course
EOSK12 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Sweden, regional innovation, universities, SDID, HEIs, RIS, EGT, Triple Helix
language
English
id
9207055
date added to LUP
2025-10-27 08:30:04
date last changed
2025-10-27 08:30:04
@misc{9207055,
  abstract     = {{As the drive to find sustainable and technological solutions to ongoing global problems becomes increasingly urgent, implementing timely innovation is needed now more than ever. The concept of regional innovation systems has recently gained popularity as a recipe for innovation and increasing knowledge transfer on a smaller scale. Specifically, the role of education in regional innovation systems has been acknowledged, but the impacts remain nuanced. Over the years, Sweden experienced notable education reforms, which granted university status to previously established colleges. Sweden, which ranks high on the Global Innovation Index (GII), serves as an interesting case study to connect the effect of these institutional status changes with increased innovation output. To explore this, a Synthetic Difference-in-Difference model is developed to examine how upgrading university status impacts the number of patent applications at the county level. Findings reveal an initial negative shock in patent applications after university status is granted, which to some extent diverges from the existing body of literature. Still, this study implores meaningful insights that motivate policymakers to implement effective innovation policies at the regional level.}},
  author       = {{Said, Astrid}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Evaluating the Impact of Status Changes in Higher Education Institutions on Swedish Regional Innovation}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}