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Geographic concentration of innovative activities in Germany

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  • Fornahl, Dirk
  • Brenner, Thomas

Abstract

The geographic concentration of industries has attracted much attention in recent economic and geographic literature. One mechanism employed to explain the emergence and comparative advantage of industrial agglomerations is based on the relationship between industrial agglomeration and local knowledge production and diffusion, and the resulting innovation activities. This paper analyses this relationship by identifying geographic concentrations of innovation activities and examining different causes for the emergence of these concentrations. The paper applies different concentration measures to patent data for German regions. We analyse 43 technological fields separately to identify which of these technologies tend to cluster in geographic space. The results are discussed in light of theoretical predictions of why specific technological fields concentrate while others do not. These explanations include the concentration of industrial activities, the role of dominant firms, dependence on scientific knowledge, and local interactions.

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  • Fornahl, Dirk & Brenner, Thomas, 2009. "Geographic concentration of innovative activities in Germany," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 163-182, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:20:y:2009:i:3:p:163-182
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    2. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
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    6. Schwartz, Michael & Peglow, Francois & Fritsch, Michael & Günther, Jutta, 2010. "What Determines the Innovative Success of Subsidized Collaborative R&D Projects? – Project-Level Evidence from Germany –," IWH Discussion Papers 7/2010, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    7. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    8. Matthias Duschl & Thomas Brenner, 2013. "Characteristics of regional industry-specific employment growth rates' distributions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 249-270, June.
    9. Stefania Vitali & Mauro Napoletano & Giorgio Fagiolo, 2013. "Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(9), pages 1534-1554, October.
    10. Ana Paula Faria & Natália Barbosa & Vasco Eiriz, 2013. "Firms’ innovation across regions: an exploratory study," NIPE Working Papers 12/2013, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    11. Schaffer, Axel & Duvelmeyer, Claudia, 2018. "Region-specific drivers and barriers of organic farming," 92nd Annual Conference, April 16-18, 2018, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 273482, Agricultural Economics Society.
    12. Rhoden, Imke, 2020. "Innovating in Krugman’s Footsteps – Where and How Innovation Differs in Europe: Static Innovation Indicators for Identifying Regional Policy Leverages," EconStor Preprints 218875, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    13. Christ, Julian P., 2010. "Geographic concentration and spatial inequality: Two decades of EPO patenting at the level of European micro regions," Violette Reihe: Schriftenreihe des Promotionsschwerpunkts "Globalisierung und Beschäftigung" 32/2010, University of Hohenheim, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Evangelisches Studienwerk.
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    15. Fang, Jiayu & Tang, Xue & Xie, Rui & Han, Feng, 2020. "The effect of manufacturing agglomerations on smog pollution," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 92-101.
    16. Viviana Fernandez, 2021. "Cross-country concentration and specialization of mining inventions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 6715-6759, August.
    17. Choi, Hyo Shin & Sohn, So Young & Yeom, Ho Jeong, 2018. "Technological composition of US metropolitan statistical areas with high-impact patents," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 72-83.
    18. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_027 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Lingyue Li & Xiaohu Zhang, 2020. "Spatial Evolution and Critical Factors of Urban Innovation: Evidence from Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, January.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/9932 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Yan, Yu & Huang, Junbing, 2022. "The role of population agglomeration played in China's carbon intensity: A city-level analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    22. repec:zbw:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Rhoden, Imke & Weller, Daniel & Voit, Ann-Katrin, 2021. "Spatio-temporal dynamics of European innovation: An exploratory approach via multivariate functional data cluster analysis," Ruhr Economic Papers 926, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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