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The Geography of Knowledge Relatedness and Technological Diversification in U.S. Cities

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  • David Rigby

Abstract

U.S. patent data and patent citations are used to build a measure of knowledge relatedness between all pairs of 438 major patent classes in the USPTO. The knowledge relatedness measures, constructed as the probability that a patent in class j will cite a patent in class i, form the links of a patent network. Changes in this U.S. knowledge network are examined for the period 1975 to 2005. Combining the knowledge network with patent data for each of the CBSAs in the United States permits analysis of the evolution of the patent knowledge base within metropolitan areas. Measures of knowledge relatedness are employed to explain technological diversification and abandonment in U.S. cities.

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  • David Rigby, 2012. "The Geography of Knowledge Relatedness and Technological Diversification in U.S. Cities," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1218, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Oct 2012.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:1218
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    2. Ron Boschma & Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Dieter Franz Kogler, 2015. "Relatedness and technological change in cities: the rise and fall of technological knowledge in US metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(1), pages 223-250.
    3. Peter Mayerhofer & Peter Huber, 2019. "Notwendigkeit und Möglichkeiten kooperativer Raum- und Wirtschaftsentwicklung in der Metropolregion Wien. Problemfelder, Handlungsoptionen, Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69764, June.
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    5. Ron Martin, 2016. "Divergent Urban Economic Development: Reflections on a Tale of Two Cities," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(9), pages 1623-1627, September.
    6. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 1: Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung – Welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert das Wach," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58342, June.
    7. Darío Vázquez, 2020. "Variety patterns in defense and health technological systems: evidence from international trade data," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 949-988, September.
    8. Carla Carolina Pérez-Hernández & María Guadalupe Montiel-Hernández & Blanca Cecilia Salazar-Hernández, 2025. "Unlocking Green Export Opportunities: Empirical Insights from Southern Cone Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Luciana Lazzeretti & Niccolò Innocenti & Francesco Capone, 2015. "Does Related variety matter for Creative Industries?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1510, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2015.
    10. Belmartino, Andrea, 2022. "Green & non-green relatedness: challenges and diversification opportunities for regional economies in Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3697, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.

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