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Regional Clusters of Innovative Activity in Europe: Are Social Capital and Geographical Proximity the Key Determinants?

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  • Laura de Dominicis

    (European Commission, Seville)

  • Raymond J.G.M. Florax

    (Purdue University, W. Lafayette, and VU University Amsterdam)

  • Henri L.F. de Groot

    (VU University Amsterdam)

Abstract

Finding proper policy instruments to promote productivity growth features prominently on the Lisbon agenda and is central in many national as well as European policy debates. In view of the increased mobility of high-skilled workers in Europe, ongoing globalization and increased interregional and international co-operation, location patterns of innovative activity may be subject to drastic changes. A proper understanding of location patterns of innovative outputs can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of national and European innovation policies. Building on the literature on the knowledge production function the aim of this paper is to explain the observed differences in the production of innovative output across European regions. Our main research question is whether geographical proximity and social capital are important vehicles of knowledge transmission for the production of innovative output in Europe. Several other variables are used to control for structural differences across European regions. We find support for the hypothesis that both social capital and geographical proximity are important factors in explaining the differences in the production of innovative output across European regions. This discussion paper led to a publication in Applied Economics .

Suggested Citation

  • Laura de Dominicis & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Henri L.F. de Groot, 2011. "Regional Clusters of Innovative Activity in Europe: Are Social Capital and Geographical Proximity the Key Determinants?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-009/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20110009
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    2. İ. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2018. "Trust and inventive activity in Europe: causal, spatial and nonlinear forces," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(3), pages 529-568, May.
    3. Lado-Sestayo Rubén & Neira-Gómez Isabel & Chasco-Yrigoyen Coro, 2017. "Entrepreneurship at Regional Level: Temporary and Neighborhood Effects," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, October.
    4. Iván Boal-San Miguel & Luis César Herrero-Prieto, 2020. "Reliability of Creative Composite Indicators with Territorial Specification in the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-27, April.
    5. Schild, Christopher-Johannes, 2013. "Generalized trust and regional innovation activity," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 02/2012, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics, revised 2013.
    6. repec:elg:eechap:14395_24 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho, 2019. "Social Justice: Disparities in Average Earnings across Portuguese Municipalities," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, April.
    8. Harrison, Jane L. & Montgomery, Claire A. & Jeanty, P. Wilner, 2019. "A spatial, simultaneous model of social capital and poverty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 183-192.
    9. Margarita Billon & Rocio Marco & Fernando Lera-Lopez, 2017. "Innovation and ICT use in the EU: an analysis of regional drivers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1083-1108, November.
    10. Jörg Breitung & Christoph Wigger, 2018. "Alternative GMM estimators for spatial regression models," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 148-170, April.
    11. Mehmet Güney Celbiş & Pui-Hang Wong & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021. "Innovativeness, Work Flexibility, and Place Characteristics: A Spatial Econometric and Machine Learning Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-29, December.
    12. G. Martinidis & N. Komninos & E. Carayannis, 2022. "Taking into Account the Human Factor in Regional Innovation Systems and Policies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 849-879, June.
    13. Aldieri, Luigi & Bruno, Bruna & Makkonen, Teemu & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2023. "Environmental innovations, geographically mediated knowledge spillovers, economic and environmental performance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Chi Keung Marco Lau & Fu Steve Yang & Zhe Zhang & Vincent K. K. Leung, 2015. "Determinants Of Innovative Activities: Evidence From Europe And Central Asia Region," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 60(01), pages 1-18.
    15. Marusca De Castris & Daniele Di Gennaro, 2018. "Does agricultural subsidies foster Italian southern farms? A Spatial Quantile Regression Approach," Papers 1803.05659, arXiv.org.
    16. Nakamura, Shohei, 2017. "Tenure Security Premium in Informal Housing Markets: A Spatial Hedonic Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 184-198.
    17. Giorgio Fazio & Luciano Lavecchia, 2013. "Social Capital Formation across Space," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 36(3), pages 296-321, July.
    18. M. Aristizabal-Ramirez & G. Canavire-Bacarreza & F. Rios-Avila, 2015. "Revisiting the effects of innovation on growth: a threshold analysis," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(18), pages 1474-1479, December.
    19. Luciano Lavecchia, 2015. "A note on social capital, space and growth in Europe," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1017, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    20. Sibylle Puntscher & Christoph Hauser & Janette Walde & Gottfried Tappeiner, 2016. "Measuring Social Capital with Aggregated Indicators: A Case of Ecological Fallacy?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 431-449, January.
    21. Bellmann, Lutz & Crimmann, Andreas & Evers, Katalin & Hujer, Reinhard, 2013. "Regional Determinants of Establishments' Innovation Activities: A Multi-Level Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 7572, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Lutz Bellmann & Katalin Evers & Reinhard Hujer, 2018. "Regional and firm-specific effects on innovations using multi-level methods," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 319-349, September.
    23. Alicja Olejnik & Agata Zoltaszek, 2020. "Tracing The Spatial Patterns Of Innovation Determinants In Regional Economic Performance," Lodz Economics Working Papers 2/2020, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology.
    24. Sibylle Puntscher & Christoph Hauser & Karin Pichler & Gottfried Tappeiner, 2014. "Social Capital and Collective Memory: A Complex Relationship," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 116-132, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; knowledge production function; social capital; spatial econometrics; European regions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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