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Unseen costs: the inequities of the geography of innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Ron Boschma
  • Rune Fitjar
  • Elisa Giuliani
  • Simona Iammarino

Abstract

Notwithstanding the wide consensus around the undeniable positive effects of innovation, there is increasing awareness that innovations may also have their dark sides. These dark sides of innovations have received little attention in regional studies. This editorial to a special issue on The Dark Side of Innovation and its Geography argues there are clear geographical footprints to this, which are related to both the inputs and the outcomes of innovation processes. In particular, we discuss how innovation activities have geographically uneven outcomes, driving spatial inequality, and how they require material inputs located in certain places, meaning that their costs are also unevenly distributed across space.

Suggested Citation

  • Ron Boschma & Rune Fitjar & Elisa Giuliani & Simona Iammarino, 2024. "Unseen costs: the inequities of the geography of innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2428, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:2428
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    2. Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Leiboyu Xiang & Neil Lee, 2025. "Finding Stars: Mapping the Geography of the World’s Scientific Elites," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2540, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2025.
    3. Wang, Wenyi & Liu, Haifei & Wang, Lei & Che, Zhen, 2025. "Networked liquidity risk contagion in high-carbon sectors: The role of multi-agent behavioral constraints," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q34 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Natural Resources and Domestic and International Conflicts
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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