Research activity and economic context: the case of Spanish public universities

Universities' R&D and innovation activity takes place within the economic and social context of a specific territory. This activity is multidimensional and its different dimensions may be unduly influenced by the economic context in which it is carried out. The present work analyses the research activity of Spanish public universities in the context of per capita GDP of their territories. The work examines data from 2002-2010 obtained from the IUNE observatory. The relationship between GDP and the different dimensions of research activity are analyzed: recognition, scientific activity, innovation, competitiveness and research training capacity. The results show that the economic context in which the activity takes place is not neutral and that there are significant correlations and linear relationships between per capita GDP and various dimensions of research activity. The significance is particularly notable once the dimensions are relativized according to the number of inhabitants. Statistically significant differences have also been found for different dimensions of research activity between universities located in territories with higher, or lower, per capita GDP.