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The role of immigrants, emigrants and locals in the historical formation of European knowledge agglomerations

Author

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  • Philipp Koch

    (TSE-R - TSE-R Toulouse School of Economics – Recherche - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, EcoAustria Inst Econ Res, Vienna, Austria)

  • Viktor Stojkoski

    (UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse)

  • César A. Hidalgo

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Did migrants make Paris a mecca for the arts and Vienna a beacon of classical music? Or was their rise a pure consequence of local actors? We use data on more than 22,000 historical individuals born between the years 1000 and 2000 to estimate the contribution of famous immigrants, emigrants and locals to the knowledge specialisations of European regions. We find that the probability that a region develops or keeps specialisation in an activity (based on the birth of famous physicists, painters, etc.) grows with both the presence of immigrants with knowledge about that activity and immigrants with knowledge in related activities. In contrast, we do not find robust evidence that the presence of locals with related knowledge explains entries and/or exits. We address some endogeneity concerns using fixed-effects models considering any location–period–activity-specific factors (e.g., the presence of a new university attracting scientists).

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Koch & Viktor Stojkoski & César A. Hidalgo, 2023. "The role of immigrants, emigrants and locals in the historical formation of European knowledge agglomerations," Post-Print hal-04361658, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04361658
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2023.2275571
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frank Neffke & Matté Hartog & Ron Boschma & Martin Henning, 2018. "Agents of Structural Change: The Role of Firms and Entrepreneurs in Regional Diversification," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 94(1), pages 23-48, January.
    2. Ernest Miguelez & Andrea Morrison, 2023. "Migrant inventors as agents of technological change," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 669-692, April.
    3. Michel Serafinelli & Guido Tabellini, 2022. "Creativity over time and space," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, March.
    4. Zoltán Elekes & Ron Boschma & Balázs Lengyel, 2019. "Foreign-owned firms as agents of structural change in regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(11), pages 1603-1613, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stojkoski, Viktor & Hidalgo, César, 2025. "Optimizing Economic Complexity," TSE Working Papers 24-1623, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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