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University Decentralization as Regional Policy: The Swedish Experiment

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  • Andersson, Roland
  • Quigley, John M.
  • Wilhelmsson, Mats

Abstract

During the past 15 years, Swedish higher education policy has emphasized the spatial decentralization of post-secondary education. We investigate the economic effects of this decentralization policy on productivity and output per worker. We rely upon a 14-year panel of output and employment for Sweden’s 285 municipalities, together with data on the location of university-based researchers and students, to estimate the effects of exogenous changes in educational policy upon regional development. We find important and significant effects of this policy upon the average productivity of workers, suggesting that the economic effects of the decentralization on regional development are economically important. We also find evidence of highly significant, but extremely localized, externalities in productivity. This is consistent with recent findings (e.g., Rosenthal and Strange, 2003) on agglomeration in ‘knowledge industries.’

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson, Roland & Quigley, John M. & Wilhelmsson, Mats, 2004. "University Decentralization as Regional Policy: The Swedish Experiment," Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy, Working Paper Series qt81n6b8fb, Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:bphupl:qt81n6b8fb
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    agglomeration economies; knowledge spillovers; regional productivity; Social and Behavioral Sciences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location

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