INDICATORS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES - COMPARING EDUCATIONAL, PATENT AND R-AND-D STATISTICS IN THE CASE OF SWEDEN

This paper explores the use of R&D, patent and educational data as tec hnology indicators, Based on Swedish data, we compare what these indic ators tell us about (a) the distribution of innovative activity betwee n large and small firms and (b) the technological competence of a set of firms, We conclude that R&D data probably not only overstate the co ncentration of technological activities to larger firms but also under state the total technological activities by underplaying the role of s mall manufacturing firms and service sector firms. Moreover, we find t hat, in some instances, educational data may capture the character and the diversity of firms' technological competence better than patents do. The combined use of educational and patent data should allow us to capture both the fullness of the breadth of the technology base and t he precise orientation of the technological efforts of firms.