Diversification of the level and structure of research and development expenditure in the European Union Countries

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to assess the degree of the European Union (EU) countries’ diversifcation in terms of the research and development intensity and the structure of R&D expenditure by the source of funding. The analysis includes R&D expenditure as % of the gross domestic product and the structure of R&D expenditure broken down by the following sectors: business enterprise, government, higher education, private non-proft and the “rest of the world”, as well as changes in this area in the years 2008–2016. The research used multidimensional statistical analysis with particular focus on classifcation methods. The study results allowed separating the relatively homogeneous classes of the EU countries in terms of R&D intensity and structure of research and development expenditure by their funding sources.