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The Geography of Unconventional Innovation

Author

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  • Enrico Berkes
  • Ruben Gaetani

Abstract

Using a newly assembled data set of US patents, we show that innovation activity is less concentrated in high-density locations than commonly believed. Yet, inventions based on atypical combinations of knowledge are indeed more prevalent in high-density urban centres. To interpret this relation, we propose that informal interactions in densely populated areas help knowledge flows between distant fields, but are less relevant for flows between close fields. We build a model of innovation in a spatial economy that endogenously generates the pattern observed in the data: specialised clusters emerge in low-density areas, whereas high-density locations diversify and produce unconventional ideas.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrico Berkes & Ruben Gaetani, 2021. "The Geography of Unconventional Innovation," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(636), pages 1466-1514.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:131:y:2021:i:636:p:1466-1514.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ej/ueaa111
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    Cited by:

    1. Kemeny, Tom & Petralia, Sergio & Storper, Michael, 2022. "Disruptive innovation and spatial inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115953, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Tubiana, Matteo & Miguelez, Ernest & Moreno, Rosina, 2022. "In knowledge we trust: Learning-by-interacting and the productivity of inventors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    3. Diemer, Andreas & Regan, Tanner, 2022. "No inventor is an island: Social connectedness and the geography of knowledge flows in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    4. Enrico Berkes & Olivier Deschênes & Ruben Gaetani & Jeffrey Lin & Christopher Severen, 2025. "Lockdowns and Innovation: Evidence from the 1918 Flu Pandemic," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 853-863, May.
    5. Rainer Widmann, 2023. "The Behavioral Additionality of Government Research Grants," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 417, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    6. Ron Boschma & Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno & Diego B. Ocampo-Corrales, 2021. "Technological breakthroughs in European regions: the role of related and unrelated combinations," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2021-10, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    7. Du, Mengfan & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2023. "The impact of producer services agglomeration on green economic development: Evidence from 278 Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Sandro Montresor & Gianluca Orsatti & Francesco Quatraro, 2023. "Technological novelty and key enabling technologies: evidence from European regions," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 851-872, August.
    9. Dai, Yanke & Du, Ting & Gao, Huasheng & Gu, Yan & Wang, Yongqin, 2024. "Patent pledgeability, trade secrecy, and corporate patenting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. William R. Kerr & Frederic Robert-Nicoud, 2020. "Tech Clusters," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 50-76, Summer.
    11. Christopher Esposito, 2021. "The Geography of Breakthrough Innovation in the United States over the 20th Century," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2126, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2021.
    12. Abbasiharofteh, Milad & Kogler, Dieter F. & Lengyel, Balázs, 2023. "Atypical combinations of technologies in regional co-inventor networks," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 52(10), pages 1-1.
    13. Marco Martinez, 2025. "Technology transfer and domestic innovation: evidence from a new dataset of Italian inventors, 1855–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 19(2), pages 375-419, May.
    14. Diane Coyle, 2021. "The idea of productivity," Working Papers 003, The Productivity Institute.
    15. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Iammarino, Simona & Ioramashvili, Carolin & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Storper, Michael, 2020. "The geography of innovation and development: global spread and local hotspots," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 105116, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Long, Cheryl Xiaoning & Yi, Wei, 2024. "Information effects of high-speed rail: Evidence from patent citations in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    17. Higham, Kyle & Contisciani, Martina & De Bacco, Caterina, 2022. "Multilayer patent citation networks: A comprehensive analytical framework for studying explicit technological relationships," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    18. Siwei Cao & Guangrong Ma & Hao Mao, 2024. "Is distance really dying? Transportation and knowledge spillovers," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 355-405, March.
    19. Widmann, Rainer, 2024. "The behavioral additionality of government research grants," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

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