Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean from Advanced Human Capital: Contribution to the Development of Patents in Emerging Countries

This paper uses data collected from the Ibero-American and Inter-American Network of Science and Technology Indicators (RICYT) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and statistically processed using Spearman’s bivariate correlation procedure and multiple regression analysis to examine the contribution of a series of variables of the advanced human capital to the innovative performance measured by patenting in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies. These findings establish relationships between patents and R&D expenditure; personnel dedicated to R&D; the number of researchers; and the number of doctoral students, but not higher education expenditure. The combination of advanced human capital factors that optimize the generation of patents in LAC can be identified. Although patenting is an indicator of innovation that has been analyzed, further research supporting it in terms of human capital measured in Latin American and Caribbean countries is needed.