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Are the problem spaces of economic actors increasingly virtual? What geo-located web activity might tell us about economic dynamism

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  • Timothy R Wojan
  • Timothy F Slaper

Abstract

The principal questions this research will address are: 1) whether a higher propensity to visit websites of interest to actual or nascent entrepreneurs is associated with higher rates of new firms births in an area; 2) whether a higher propensity to visit websites of interest to those working on design problems is associated with the quality of business in terms of orientations toward design or innovation; and 3) whether a higher propensity to visit websites of interest to those pursuing arts as an avocation is associated with an increased ability to find nonobvious solutions that might be manifest in business quality. The unique data that allow examining these questions were compiled from billions of web hits by geo-located devices. These data are combined with both detailed establishment level data with reliable information on the innovation and design orientation of firms, and a longitudinal census of all establishments with a formal credit relationship in the U.S. The findings confirm that businesses located in areas with a high propensity to visit design and arts avocation websites are more likely to pursue more far ranging innovation and are more likely to integrate design into their innovation processes. Firm birth rates are higher in areas with a high propensity to visit websites of interest to entrepreneurs, and the existence of high growth firms is strongly associated with demonstrated interest in design and arts avocation websites. The possible uses of these nontraditional measures as indicators of economic dynamism are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy R Wojan & Timothy F Slaper, 2020. "Are the problem spaces of economic actors increasingly virtual? What geo-located web activity might tell us about economic dynamism," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0239256
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239256
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Feldman, Maryann P. & Kogler, Dieter F., 2010. "Stylized Facts in the Geography of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 381-410, Elsevier.
    2. Fernando Galindo-Rueda & Valentine Millot, 2015. "Measuring Design and its Role in Innovation," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2015/1, OECD Publishing.
    3. Edward L. Glaeser & Hyunjin Kim & Michael Luca, 2019. "Nowcasting the Local Economy: Using Yelp Data to Measure Economic Activity," NBER Chapters, in: Big Data for Twenty-First-Century Economic Statistics, pages 249-273, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Mikko Packalen & Jay Bhattacharya, 2015. "Cities and Ideas," NBER Working Papers 20921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zheng Tian & Timothy R. Wojan & Stephan J. Goetz, 2022. "An Examination of the Informational Value of Self-Reported Innovation Questions," Working Papers 22-46, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

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