Mapping the European twin transition: an evolutionary perspective on green and digital regional development

In this paper, we examine the twin transition of European regions in green and digital technologies using patent data from 1995 to 2020. We investigate how regions have developed comparative advantages in green or digital technologies, or in both. To analyse how these comparative advantages have evolved over time, we apply geographical sequence analysis – a method recently introduced to regional research – to explore the trajectories of regions with respect to twin transition technologies. In a subsequent step, we use regression models to explain the observed sequence patterns. Our findings indicate that regions leading in both green and digital technologies (twin leaders) first establish comparative advantages in digital technologies before developing them in green domains. This suggests that the trajectory towards a twin transition is more likely to emerge through a digital pathway rather than a green one.