%A S Radosevic %K public R&D, science - industry links, central and eastern europe, South EU, R&D and growth %T The role of public research in economic development %S Science, research and innovation performance of the EU, A contribution to the open innovation, open science, open to the world agenda : 2016 %C Brussels %I Publications Office of the European Union %O © European Union 2016. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. %P 119-139 %X The chapter explores the effects of public R&D on productivity and growth. We summarise the main stylised facts and show that our understanding of the benefits of public R&D is limited and that a broader approach is needed which takes account of a wider range of benefits from public R&D. Specifically, we explore these issues in the context of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Southern Europe as two EU ‘catching-up’ regions. We show that the links between science and industry in these regions are stronger than is commonly assumed, but that we need a better understanding of the nature of these links and their intensity.​ %D 2016 %B Science, Research and Innovation performance of the EU. A contribution to the Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World agenda, DG for Research and Innovation, European Commission %L discovery1503409