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The Geographic Concentration of Knowledge: Scale, Agglomeration, and Congestion in Innovation Across U.S. States

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  • Norman Sedgley
  • Bruce Elmslie

Abstract

Evidence of the importance of agglomeration economies in productivity is reported by a number of studies in regional economics. We extend the literature by looking into agglomeration and congestion in innovation and technological change using an endogenous innovation approach. It turns out that the geographic specificity of knowledge spillovers is also a central concern. Using data from U.S. states, evidence is found that knowledge spillovers are geographically concentrated but agglomeration economies far outweigh congestion effects. These results have important implications for new growth theory as well as regional economics because growth theorists have abandoned the scale implications of their models.

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  • Norman Sedgley & Bruce Elmslie, 2004. "The Geographic Concentration of Knowledge: Scale, Agglomeration, and Congestion in Innovation Across U.S. States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 27(2), pages 111-137, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:27:y:2004:i:2:p:111-137
    DOI: 10.1177/0160017603262401
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    4. Nazmun N. Ratna & Quentin Grafton & Ian A. MacDonald, 2012. "Does Multiculturalism Pay? Empirical Evidence from the United States and Canada," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 31(4), pages 401-417, December.
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    6. Annekatrin Niebuhr & Jan Cornelius Peters & Alex Schmidke, 2020. "Spatial sorting of innovative firms and heterogeneous effects of agglomeration on innovation in Germany," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1343-1375, October.
    7. Carlino, Gerald A. & Chatterjee, Satyajit & Hunt, Robert M., 2007. "Urban density and the rate of invention," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 389-419, May.
    8. Mauro L. Ghinamo, 2012. "Explaining The Variation In The Empirical Estimates Of Academic Knowledge Spillovers," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 606-634, October.
    9. Abubakar, Yazid Abdullahi & Hand, Chris & Smallbone, David & Saridakis, George, 2019. "What specific modes of internationalization influence SME innovation in Sub-Saharan least developed countries (LDCs)?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 56-70.
    10. Gerald Carlino & Satyajit Chatterjee & Robert Hunt, 2005. "Matching and Learning in Cities: Urban Density and the Rate of Invention," Levine's Bibliography 784828000000000160, UCLA Department of Economics.
    11. Norman Sedgley & Bruce Elmslie, 2011. "Do We Still Need Cities? Evidence on Rates of Innovation from Count Data Models of Metropolitan Statistical Area Patents," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 86-108, January.

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