This paper investigates the role of technological exploration and green innovation in shaping regional labour productivity across European regions. Building on the literature on technological recombination, we develop a novel indicator of Regional Technological Exploration, defined as the pursuit of previously unexplored technological combinations and distant knowledge domains by inventors in the region. The indicator is constructed by identifying unconventional technological recombinations at the patent level and aggregating them to capture regional exploratory propensity. We compare the indicator with alternative measures of technological diversification, novelty and impact proposed in the literature, and show that it captures a distinct dimension of regional innovation. Using a panel of 1,386 European NUTS3 regions over the period 1980–2019, we examine the dynamic interactions among regional technological exploration, green innovation, and
labour productivity. The results reveal that both technological exploration and green innovation lead to subsequent productivity growth, and their effects are persistent. These findings contribute to the literature on regional innovation and innovation policy by highlighting the importance of exploratory strategies and green innovation for long-run productivity growth.
Authors Martina Iori, Silvia Rocchetta, Giacomo lo Conte