IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/egu/wpaper/1808.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Creative and science-oriented employees and firm-level innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Stephan Brunow
  • Antonia Birkeneder
  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

Abstract

This paper examines the link between innovation and the endowments of creative and science-oriented STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ? workers at the level of the firm and at the city-/regional-level in Germany. It also looks into whether the presence of these two groups of workers has greater benefits for larger cities than smaller locations, thus justifying policies to attract these workers in order to make German cities 'smarter'. The empirical analysis is based on a probit estimation, covering 115,000 firm-level observations between 1998 and 2015. The results highlight that firms that employ creative and STEM workers are more innovative than those that do not. However, the positive connection of creative workers to innovation is limited to the boundaries of the firm, whereas that of STEM workers is as associated to the generation of considerable innovation spillovers. Hence, attracting STEM workers is more likely to end up making German cities smarter than focusing exclusively on creative workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan Brunow & Antonia Birkeneder & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2018. "Creative and science-oriented employees and firm-level innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1808, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Feb 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:1808
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg1808.pdf
    File Function: Version February 2018
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.
    2. Giovanni Peri & Kevin Y. Shih & Chad Sparber, 2014. "Foreign STEM Workers and Native Wages and Employment in U.S. Cities," NBER Working Papers 20093, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Sam Youl Lee & Richard Florida & Zoltan J. Acs, 2008. "Creativity and Entrepreneurship: A Regional Analysis of New Firm Formation," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 13, pages 171-182, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Ron A. Boschma & Michael Fritsch, 2009. "Creative Class and Regional Growth: Empirical Evidence from Seven European Countries," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 85(4), pages 391-423, October.
    5. Neil Lee & Andr�s Rodr�guez-Pose, 2014. "Innovation in Creative Cities: Evidence from British Small Firms," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(6), pages 494-512, August.
    6. 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.
    7. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2016. "Is There Trickle-Down from Tech? Poverty, Employment, and the High-Technology Multiplier in U.S. Cities," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(5), pages 1114-1134, September.
    8. Möller Joachim & Tubadji Annie, 2009. "The Creative Class, Bohemians and Local Labor Market Performance: A Micro-data Panel Study for Germany 1975–2004," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(2-3), pages 270-291, April.
    9. Richard Florida, 2014. "The Creative Class and Economic Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 28(3), pages 196-205, August.
    10. Richard Wright & Mark Ellis & Matthew Townley, 2017. "The Matching of STEM Degree Holders with STEM Occupations in Large Metropolitan Labor Markets in the United States," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 93(2), pages 185-201, March.
    11. Michael Storper & Anthony J. Venables, 2004. "Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 351-370, August.
    12. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2014. "Creativity, Cities, and Innovation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(5), pages 1139-1159, May.
    13. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril98-1.
    14. Gerard Marlet & Clemens van Woerkens, 2007. "The Dutch Creative Class and How it Fosters Urban Employment Growth," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(13), pages 2605-2626, December.
    15. Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp & Roger R. Stough (ed.), 2015. "The Rise of the City," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15798.
    16. David Mcgranahan & Timothy Wojan, 2007. "Recasting the Creative Class to Examine Growth Processes in Rural and Urban Counties," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 197-216.
    17. Trax, Michaela & Brunow, Stephan & Suedekum, Jens, 2015. "Cultural diversity and plant-level productivity," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 85-96.
    18. Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2012. "Education or Creativity: What Matters Most for Economic Performance?," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 88(4), pages 369-401, October.
    19. Winters, John V., 2014. "Foreign and Native-Born STEM Graduates and Innovation Intensity in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 8575, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    21. Fritsch, Michael & Stuetzer, Michael, 2008. "The Geography of Creative People in Germany," MPRA Paper 21965, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Neil Lee & Emma Drever, 2013. "The Creative Industries, Creative Occupations and Innovation in London," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(12), pages 1977-1997, December.
    23. Wedemeier, Jan, 2010. "The impact of creativity on growth in German regions," MPRA Paper 26573, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Meric S. Gertler, 2003. "Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 75-99, January.
    26. Mark D. Partridge, 2010. "The duelling models: NEG vs amenity migration in explaining US engines of growth," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 513-536, August.
    27. Christian Gottschalk & Rüdiger Hamm, 2011. "Toleranz, Talente und Technologien — die räumliche Verteilung der Kreativen Klasse in Deutschland," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 91(6), pages 414-421, June.
    28. Alessandra Faggian & Roberta Comunian & Sarah Jewell & Ursula Kelly, 2013. "Bohemian Graduates in the UK: Disciplines and Location Determinants of Creative Careers," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 183-200, February.
    29. Sam Youl Lee & Richard Florida & Gary Gates, 2010. "Innovation, Human Capital, and Creativity," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 13-24, January.
    30. Glaeser, E., 2005. "Edward L. Glaeser, Review of Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 593-596, September.
    31. Giovanni Peri & Kevin Shih & Chad Sparber, 2016. "STEM Workers, H-1B Visas, and Productivity in US Cities," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 9, pages 277-307, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    32. Ann Markusen, 2006. "Urban Development and the Politics of a Creative Class: Evidence from a Study of Artists," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(10), pages 1921-1940, October.
    33. Nathan, Max, 2007. "The Wrong Stuff? Creative Class Theory and Economic Performance in UK Cities," MPRA Paper 29486, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    34. Manfred M. Fischer & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), 2014. "Handbook of Regional Science," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-642-23430-9, December.
    35. Robert Huggins & Nick Clifton, 2011. "Competitiveness, Creativity, and Place-Based Development," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(6), pages 1341-1362, June.
    36. Griliches, Zvi, 1998. "R&D and Productivity," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226308869, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bruna Bruno & Marisa Faggini, 2021. "To be a STEM or not to be a STEM: Why do countries differ?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 1535-1551, September.
    2. Podobnik, Boris & Dabić, Marina & Wild, Dorian & Di Matteo, Tiziana, 2023. "The impact of STEM on the growth of wealth at varying scales, ranging from individuals to firms and countries: The performance of STEM firms during the pandemic across different markets," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Lee, Neil, 2020. "Hipsters vs. geeks? Creative workers, STEM and innovation in US cities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103974, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Lehnert, Patrick & Pfister, Curdin & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2020. "Employment of R&D personnel after an educational supply shock: Effects of the introduction of Universities of Applied Sciences in Switzerland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Oleg Mariev & Karina Nagieva & Andrey Pushkarev & Natalia Davidson & Kazi Sohag, 2022. "Effects of R&D spending on productivity of the Russian firms: does technological intensity matter?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(5), pages 2619-2643, May.
    6. Andrés Camacho, 2020. "The role of science-oriented workers on innovation: the case of the accommodation industry in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo UEC 19547, Universidad Externado de Colombia.
    7. Annie Tubadji & Thomas Colwill & Don Webber, 2021. "Voting with your feet or voting for Brexit: The tale of those stuck behind," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 247-277, April.

    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. Brunow, Stephan & Birkeneder, Antonia & Rodriguez-Pose, Andrés, 2017. "Creative and science oriented employees and firm innovation : a key for smarter cities?," IAB-Discussion Paper 201724, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    2. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Lee, Neil, 2020. "Hipsters vs. geeks? Creative workers, STEM and innovation in US cities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103974, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Roberto Antonietti, 2011. "From creativity to innovativeness: micro evidence from Italy," Openloc Working Papers 1117, Public policies and local development.
    4. Eckhardt Bode & Lucia Perez Villar, 2017. "Creativity, education or what? On the measurement of regional human capital," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 51-67, March.
    5. Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2013. "Regional Development and Creativity," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 36(3), pages 354-391, July.
    6. Roberto Antonietti, 2015. "Does Local Creative Employment Affect Firm Innovativeness? Microeconometric Evidence from Italy," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3), pages 5-29.
    7. Josh Siepel & Roberto Camerani & Monica Masucci, 2021. "Skills combinations and firm performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1425-1447, April.
    8. Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2011. "Education or just Creativity: what matters most for economic performance?," ERSA conference papers ersa11p199, European Regional Science Association.
    9. Möller Joachim & Tubadji Annie, 2009. "The Creative Class, Bohemians and Local Labor Market Performance: A Micro-data Panel Study for Germany 1975–2004," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(2-3), pages 270-291, April.
    10. Niccolò Innocenti & Luciana Lazzeretti, 2018. "Relatedness and growth: The impact of creative industries to the wider economy," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1819, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Apr 2018.
    11. David B. Audretsch & Nikolaus Seitz & Katherine Margaret Rouch, 2018. "Tolerance and innovation: the role of institutional and social trust," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(1), pages 71-92, March.
    12. Rahel Falk & Hasan Bakhshi & Martin Falk & Wilhelm Geiger & Susanne Karr & Catherine Keppel & Hannes Leo & Roland Spitzlinger, 2011. "Innovation and Competitiveness of the Creative Industries," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41510.
    13. Jinliao He & Jue Peng & Gang Zeng, 2023. "The Spatiality of the Creative Digital Economy: Local Amenities to the Spatial Agglomeration of Creative E-Freelancers in China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 4608-4629, December.
    14. Kai Zhao & Yuesheng Zhang & Jinkai Zhao & Xiaojing Li, 2020. "Understanding Contributions of the Creative Class to Sustainable Economic Growth in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.
    15. Francisco De Lima Cavalcanti & Raul Da Mota Silveira Neto, 2016. "Creative Class, Human Capital And Urban Dynamism: Empirical Evidence For The Brazilian Cities," Anais do XLII Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 42nd Brazilian Economics Meeting] 160, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    16. Silvia Cerisola & Elisa Panzera, 2021. "Cultural and Creative Cities and Regional Economic Efficiency: Context Conditions as Catalyzers of Cultural Vibrancy and Creative Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    17. Michael Fritsch & Michael Stützer, 2012. "The Geography of Creative People in Germany revisited," Jena Economics Research Papers 2012-065, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    18. Silvia Cerisola, 2018. "Multiple creative talents and their determinants at the local level," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(2), pages 243-269, May.
    19. Stephan Brunow & Valentina Nafts, 2013. "What types of firms tend to be more innovative: A study on Germany," Norface Discussion Paper Series 2013021, Norface Research Programme on Migration, Department of Economics, University College London.
    20. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; Creative workers; STEM workers; Smart Cities; Spillover; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    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:egu:wpaper:1808. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deguunl.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.