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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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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

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