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Agglomeration and the Spatial Distribution of Creativity

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Author Info
Andersson, Roland () (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)
Quigley, John. M () (University of California Berkeley)
Wilhelmsson, Mats () (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the spatial distribution of “creativity” -- the production of new knowledge. We analyze commercial patents granted in Sweden during 1994-2001 using a panel of one hundred labor market areas which encompass the entire country. We relate patent activity to measures of localization and urbanization, to the industrial composition and size distribution of firms, and to the regional distribution of human capital. Our analysis confirms the importance of human capital and research facilities in stimulating regional patent output. Importantly, our results document the importance of agglomeration and spatial factors in influencing creativity: Patent activity is increased in larger and more dense labor markets and in regions in which a larger fraction of the labor force is employed in medium-sized firms. Our results also indicate that creativity is greater in labor markets with more diverse employment bases and in those which contain a larger share of national employment in certain industries, confirming the importance of urbanization and localization economies in stimulating creativity. Our quantitative results suggest that the urbanization of Sweden during the 1990s had an important effect upon the aggregate level of patent activity in the country, leading to increases of up to five percent in aggregate patents.

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Paper provided by Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies in its series Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation with number 42.

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Length: 23 pages
Date of creation: 18 Oct 2005
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Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0042

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Postal: CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 790 95 63
Web page: http://www.infra.kth.se/cesis/
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Related research
Keywords: Agglomeration patent spatial distribution creativity

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - Europe: 1913-
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
R11 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Analysis of Growth, Development, and Changes

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-37, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  4. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-40, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  6. Anselin, Luc & Varga, Attila & Acs, Zoltan, 1997. "Local Geographic Spillovers between University Research and High Technology Innovations," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 422-448, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Krugman, Paul, 1998. "Space: The Final Frontier," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 161-74, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Manfred M. Fischer & Attila Varga, 2003. "Spatial knowledge spillovers and university research: Evidence from Austria," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 303-322, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    • Edward L. Glaeser & Hedi D. Kallal & Jose A. Scheinkman & Andrei Shleifer, 1991. "Growth in Cities," NBER Working Papers 3787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Strange, William C., 2001. "The Determinants of Agglomeration," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 191-229, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Rauch James E., 1993. "Productivity Gains from Geographic Concentration of Human Capital: Evidence from the Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 380-400, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Manuel Trajtenberg, 1990. "A Penny for Your Quotes: Patent Citations and the Value of Innovations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(1), pages 172-187, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  18. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-99, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Roland Andersson & John M. Quigley & Mats Wilhelmson, 2004. "University decentralization as regional policy: the Swedish experiment," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 371-388, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  21. Acs, Zoltan J. & Anselin, Luc & Varga, Attila, 2002. "Patents and innovation counts as measures of regional production of new knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1069-1085, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2006. "Migration and Innovation - Does Cultural Diversity Matter for Regional R&D Activity?," ERSA conference papers ersa06p31, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  2. Henri L.F. de Groot & Jacques Poot & Martijn J. Smit, 2007. "Agglomeration, Innovation and Regional Development: Theoretical Perspectives and Meta-Analysis," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-079/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  3. Wilhelmsson, Mats, 2007. "How Can Research Networks Improve The Innovation Process?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 108, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies. [Downloadable!]
  4. David L. Barkley & Mark S. Henry & Doohee Lee, 2006. "Innovative activity in rural areas: the importance of local and regional characteristics," Community Development Investment Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, pages 1-14. [Downloadable!]
  5. Westlund, Hans & Calidoni-Lundberg, Federica, 2007. "THE CREATIVE CLASS AND SOCIAL CAPITAL - civil society, regional development and high-tech employment in Japan," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 112, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies. [Downloadable!]
  6. Niebuhr, Annekatrin, 2006. "Migration and innovation : does cultural diversity matter for regional R&D activity?," IAB Discussion Paper 200614, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]. [Downloadable!]
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