IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/cesisp/0088.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Inside the Black Box of Regional Development - human capital, the creative class and tolerance

Author

Listed:
  • Florida, Richard

    (George Mason University, US)

  • Mellander, Charlotta

    (Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) and CESIS)

  • Stolarick, Kevin

    (Carnegie Mellon University , US)

Abstract

While there is a general consensus on the importance of human capital to regional development, debate has emerged around two key issues. The first involves the efficacy of educational versus occupational measures (i.e. the creative class) of human capital, while the second revolves around the factors that effect its distribution. We use structural equation models and path analysis to examine the effects of these two alternative measures of human capital on regional income and wages, and also to isolate the effects of tolerance, consumer service amenities, and the university on its distribution. We find that human capital and the creative class effect regional development through different channels. The creative class outperforms conventional educational attainment measures in accounting for regional labor productivity measured as wages, while conventional human capital does better in accounting for regional income. We find that tolerance is significantly associated with both human capital and the creative class as well as with wages and income.

Suggested Citation

  • Florida, Richard & Mellander, Charlotta & Stolarick, Kevin, 2007. "Inside the Black Box of Regional Development - human capital, the creative class and tolerance," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 88, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0088
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://static.sys.kth.se/itm/wp/cesis/cesiswp88.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser, Jed Kolko, and Albert Saiz, 2001. "Consumer city," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 27-50, January.
    3. Berry, Christopher R. & Glaeser, Edward L., 2005. "Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Working Paper Series rwp05-057, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Robert J. Barro, 1998. "Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262522543, April.
    5. Jesse M. Shapiro, 2006. "Smart Cities: Quality of Life, Productivity, and the Growth Effects of Human Capital," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 324-335, May.
    6. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    7. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    8. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    9. Robert J. Gordon, 2003. "Hi-tech Innovation and Productivity Growth: Does Supply Create Its Own Demand?," NBER Working Papers 9437, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Paul M. Romer, 1987. "Crazy Explanations for the Productivity Slowdown," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1987, Volume 2, pages 163-210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Simon, Curtis J., 1998. "Human Capital and Metropolitan Employment Growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 223-243, March.
    12. Maryann Feldman & Roger Martin, 2004. "Jurisdictional Advantage," NBER Working Papers 10802, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The divergence of human capital levels across cities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(3), pages 407-444, August.
    14. Edward L. Ullman, 1958. "Regional Development And The Geography Of Concentration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 179-198, January.
    15. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels Across Cities," NBER Working Papers 11617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Charlotta Mellander & Richard Florida, 2011. "Creativity, talent, and regional wages in Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 46(3), pages 637-660, June.
    2. Jos� Lobo & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick & Deborah Strumsky, 2014. "The Inventive, the Educated and the Creative: How Do They Affect Metropolitan Productivity?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 155-177, February.
    3. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2016. "Human capital in cities and suburbs," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 91-123, July.
    4. Pablo COTO-MILLÁN & Miguel Ángel PESQUERA & Pedro CASARES-HONTAÑÓN & Pablo DE CASTRO, 2011. "Serempathy: A New Approach To Innovation. An Application To Forty-Six Regions Of Atlantic Arc Countries," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 1(6), pages 1-26, October.
    5. Florida, Richard & Mellander, Charlotta & Qian, Haifeng, 2008. "Creative China? The University, Tolerance and Talent in Chinese Regional Development," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 145, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    6. Alfonso Badiola & Pedro Casares-Hontañón & Pablo Coto-Millán & Miguel Ángel Pesquera, 2012. "Networks and Innovation: An Economic Model for European Regions (2002-2006)," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 2(5), pages 1-4, October.
    7. Mellander, Charlotta & Florida, Richard, 2007. "The Creative Class or Human Capital? - explaining regional development in Sweden," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 79, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    8. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2008. "The Economics of Place-Making Policies," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 39(1 (Spring), pages 155-253.
    9. Haifeng Qian, 2010. "Talent, creativity and regional economic performance: the case of China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 133-156, August.
    10. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    11. Ronny Correa-Quezada & José Álvarez-García & María De la Cruz Del Río-Rama & Claudia Patricia Maldonado-Erazo, 2018. "Role of Creative Industries as a Regional Growth Factor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    12. Winters, John V., 2011. "Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 446-454, September.
    13. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Haifeng Qian, 2012. "China's Development Disconnect," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(3), pages 628-648, March.
    14. Di Cataldo, Marco & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2016. "What drives employment growth and social inclusion in EU regions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68510, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Aurélie LALANNE & Guillaume POUYANNE, 2012. "Ten years of metropolization in economics: a bibliometric approach (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    16. Zhenhua Chen & Laurie A. Schintler, 2023. "Rediscovering regional science: Positioning the field's evolving location in science and society," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 617-642, June.
    17. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Patrick Adler, 2011. "The Creative Class Paradigm," Chapters, in: David Emanuel Andersson & Åke E. Andersson & Charlotta Mellander (ed.), Handbook of Creative Cities, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Südekum, Jens, 2008. "Convergence of the skill composition across German regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 148-159, March.
    19. Casey Dougal & Christopher A. Parsons & Sheridan Titman, 2014. "Urban Vibrancy and Corporate Growth," NBER Working Papers 20350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Marco Di Cataldo & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2017. "What drives employment growth and social inclusion in the regions of the European Union?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(12), pages 1840-1859, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Capital; Creative Class; Tolerance; Wages; Income; Regional Development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0088. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Vardan Hovsepyan (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cekthse.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.