Showing papers in "Journal of Economic Geography in 2014"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the interplay between geographic distance and triadic closure as two main forces that drive the evolution of collaboration networks, and empirically demonstrate that as the technological regime of an industry changes over time, inventors increasingly rely on network resources by forming links to partners of partners, while the direct impact of geographic distance on tie formation decreases.
Abstract: Economic geography has developed a stronghold analyzing how geography impacts innovation. Yet, despite increased interest in networks, a critical assessment of the role of geography in the evolution of networks is still lacking. This article attempts to explore the interplay between geographic distance and triadic closure as two main forces that drive the evolution of collaboration networks. Analyzing the evolution of inventor networks in German biotechnology, the article theoretically argues and empirically demonstrates that—as the technological regime of an industry changes over time—inventors increasingly rely on network resources by forming links to partners of partners, while the direct impact of geographic distance on tie formation decreases. Although initially triadic closure reinforces the geographic distance effect by closing triads among proximate inventors, over time triadic closure becomes an increasingly powerful vehicle to generate longer distance collaboration ties as the effect of geographic proximity decreases.
212 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take issue with the reification of proximity in the current debates about the geographies of knowledge production and develop a more differentiated view on the spatialities of learning by focussing on knowledge practices in which neither physical nor relational proximity are available.
Abstract: This article takes issue with the reification of proximity in the current debates about the geographies of knowledge production. It aims at developing a more differentiated view on the spatialities of learning by focussing on knowledge practices in which neither physical nor relational proximity are available. More specifically, the article explores on the basis of a ‘netnographic approach’ interactive knowledge collaboration in nine ‘hybrid virtual communities’ that reflect a broad spectrum of organizational set-ups from firm hosted over firm related to independent communities. Our empirical analysis reveals that hybrid virtual communities even in the absence of physical or relational proximity are able to produce economically useful knowledge; that despite the low importance of proximity the physical and material conditions play a crucial role for knowledge collaboration in hybrid virtual communities; and that hybrid virtual communities afford unique technical opportunities and social dynamics that foster learning processes unattainable in face-to-face contexts.
146 citations
TL;DR: Bathelt, H., & Cohendet, P. (2014) The creation of knowledge: Local building, global accessing and economic development toward an agenda as discussed by the authors.This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Economic Geography following peer review.
Abstract: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted
for publication in Journal of Economic Geography following peer review.
The version of record [Bathelt, H., & Cohendet, P. (2014). The creation
of knowledge: Local building, global accessing and economic
development—Toward an agenda. Journal of Economic Geography, 14(5),
869-882.] is available online at:
http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/5/869
[doi: 10.1093/jeg/lbu027].
144 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that regional growth is partly a function of the value created through inter-organizational flows of knowledge within and across regions, and propose that investment in calculative networks by organizations to access knowledge is a form of capital, termed network capital, which should be incorporated into regional growth models.
Abstract: The need to better understand the mechanisms underlying regional growth patterns is widely recognized. This article argues that regional growth is partly a function of the value created through inter-organizational flows of knowledge within and across regions. It is proposed that investment in calculative networks by organizations to access knowledge is a form of capital, termed network capital, which should be incorporated into regional growth models. The article seeks to develop a framework to capture the value of network capital within these models based on the spatial configuration and the nature of the knowledge flowing through networks.
138 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an evolutionary framework of regional resilience with a primary focus on the structural properties of local knowledge networks is developed. But the authors focus on how regional knowledge networks succeed in combining technological lock-in with regional lock-out.
Abstract: This article develops an evolutionary framework of regional resilience with a primary focus on the structural properties of local knowledge networks. After presenting the network-based rationales of growth and structuring of clusters, we analyze under which structural conditions a regional cluster can achieve short-run competitiveness without compromising long-run resilience capabilities. We show that the properties of degree distribution (the level of hierarchy) and degree correlation (the level of structural homophily) of regional knowledge networks should be studied to understand how clusters succeed in combining technological lock-in with regional lock-out. We propose simple statistical measures of cluster structuring to highlight these properties and discuss the results in a policy-oriented analysis. We conclude showing that policies for regional resilience should focus on ex-ante regional diagnosis and targeted interventions on particular missing links, rather than ex-postmyopic applications of policies based on an unconditional increase of network relational density.
133 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relative merits and inherent limitations of pipelines, listening posts, crowdsourcing and trade fairs to acquire knowledge and solutions from geographically and relationally remote sources are explored.
Abstract: Work on clusters during the last few decades convincingly demonstrates enhanced opportunities for local growth and entrepreneurship, but external upstream knowledge linkages are often overlooked or taken for granted. This article is an attempt to remedy this situation by investigating why and how young, single-site firms search for distant sources of complementary competences. The discussion is positioned within a comprehensive framework that allows a systematic investigation of the approaches available to firms engaged in globally extended learning. By utilizing the distinction between problem awareness (what remote knowledge is needed?) and source awareness (where does this knowledge reside?) the article explores the relative merits and inherent limitations of pipelines, listening posts, crowdsourcing and trade fairs to acquire knowledge and solutions from geographically and relationally remote sources.
131 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the geography of multinational corporations' investments in the EU regions and found that regional socio-economic conditions are crucially important for the location decisions of investments in most sophisticated knowledge-intensive stages of the value chain.
Abstract: This paper investigates the geography of multinational corporations’ investments in the EU regions. The ‘traditional’ sources of location advantages (i.e. agglomeration economies, market access and labour market conditions) are considered together with innovation and socio-institutional drivers of investments, captured by means of regional ‘social filter’ conditions. This makes it possible to empirically assess the different role played by such advantages in the location decision of investments at different stages of the value chain and disentangle the differential role of national vs. regional factors. The empirical analysis covers the EU-25 regions and suggests that regional socio-economic conditions are crucially important for the location decisions of investments in the most sophisticated knowledge-intensive stages of the value chain.
110 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored how decoupling from global commodity chains may lead to positive development outcomes in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, where a selective and short-term strategic decoupled and subsequent recoupling has played a crucial role in the development of what is now the largest such industry in the Global South.
Abstract: Contemporary debates on economic globalization have emphasized the development opportunities for the Global South through local firms becoming integrated into the global commodity chains (GCCs), value chains (GVCs) and production networks (GPNs) governed by leading multinational corporations. With increasing attention to the negative sides of integration, an emergent issue is the role of disengagement from, and operation outside of, the GPNs of lead firms. Through the case of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, where a selective and short-term strategic decoupling and subsequent recoupling has played a crucial role in the development of what is now the largest such industry in the Global South, this article explores how decoupling from GPNs may lead to positive development outcomes. The experience of India and the pharmaceutical industry shows that a sequence of decoupling and recoupling can be an alternative to strategic coupling as a route to economic development.
108 citations
TL;DR: Bathelt, H., and Li, P. F. (2014) as mentioned in this paper, Foreign direct investment flows from Canada to China, 14(1), 45-71, accepted for publication in Journal of Economic Geography following peer review.
Abstract: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted
for publication in Journal of Economic Geography following peer review.
The version of record [Bathelt, H., & Li, P. F. (2014). Global cluster
networks – Foreign direct investment flows from Canada to China.
Journal of Economic Geography, 14(1), 45-71.] is available online at:
http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/content/14/1/45
[doi: 10.1093/jeg/lbt005].
108 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the impact of labour mobility on plant performance in Denmark and found that the effect of labor mobility can only be assessed when one accounts for the type of skills that flow into the plant and the degree to which these match the existing skills at the plant level, and they used a sophisticated indicator of revealed relatedness that measures the degree of skill relatedness between sectors on the basis of the intensity of labour flows between sectors.
Abstract: This article investigates the impact of labour mobility on plant performance in Denmark. Our study shows that the effect of labour mobility can only be assessed when one accounts for the type of skills that flow into the plant and the degree to which these match the existing skills at the plant level. As expected, we found that the inflow of skills that are related to skills in the plant impacts positively on plant productivity growth, while inflows of skills that are similar to the plant skills have a negative effect. We used a sophisticated indicator of revealed relatedness that measures the degree of skill relatedness between sectors on the basis of the intensity of labour flows between sectors. Intra-regional mobility of skilled labour had a negative effect on plant performance, but the impacts of intra- and inter-regional mobility depended on the type of skills that flow into the plant.
101 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored persistence of new firm formation at the UK NUTS II level for the 1994-2007 period and found that interregional differences in new firm formations and their determinants are time persistent.
Abstract: This research explores persistence of new firm formation at the UK NUTS II level for the 1994–2007 period. The results obtained herewith suggest that interregional differences in new firm formation and their determinants are time persistent. The evidence produced shows that past new firm formation rates determine future ones and that, depending on the econometric specification, human capital, local industry structure, sources of external economies and local economic conditions and wealth are significant determinants. The analysis of new firm formation distribution dynamics suggests that whatever changes may arise in the external shape of distribution are not significant and intra-distribution mobility is limited.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the evolution of the Chilean urban system between 1885 and 2002 and estimated changes in the Zipf coefficient and the stability of the hierarchy of urban centers based on information from the Population and Housing Censuses.
Abstract: Over the last century, Chile has experienced a demographic and economic transformation that has shaped its economic geography. This article examines the evolution of the chilean urban system between 1885 and 2002. We estimate changes in the Zipf coefficient and the stability of the hierarchy of urban centers based on information from the Population and Housing Censuses. The results show a marked trend towards the formation of an increasingly asymmetrical system of cities that does not satisfy Zipf's law in the last two decades. At the same time, the hierarchy of cities has tended to be more stable, with a clear dominance of large cities that existed at the end of the nineteenth century and an increasing reduction in the variability among low-ranking cities.
TL;DR: In this paper, a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms was used to study the productivity advantages of two types of spatially concentrated regions: urban areas and industrial districts, showing that the former were better able to cope with the major shocks that hit the world economy.
Abstract: Using data from a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms we provide novel empirical evidence on the magnitude of local productivity advantages in two types of spatially concentrated regions: urban areas (UAs) and industrial districts (IDs). A larger surplus is estimated for cities compared to industrial clusters, only partially related to the more skilled workforce employed in UAs. Over the last decade, the productivity premium of UAs has remained essentially unchanged, while that of IDs has showed a tendency to decline, suggesting that the former were better able to cope with the major shocks that hit the world economy.
TL;DR: This study explores the worldwide spatial evolution of scientific knowledge production in biotechnology in the period 1986-2008 using new methodology that identifies new key topics in biotech on the basis of frequent use of title worlds in major biotech journals as an indication of new cognitive developments.
Abstract: This study explores the worldwide spatial evolution of scientific knowledge production in biotechnology in the period 1986–2008. We employ new methodology that identifies new key topics in biotech on the basis of frequent use of title worlds in major biotech journals as an indication of new cognitive developments within this scientific field. Our analyses show that biotech is subject to a path- and place-dependent process of knowledge production. We observed a high degree of re-occurrences of similar key topics in biotech in consecutive years. Furthermore, slow growth cities in biotech are characterized by topics that are less technologically related to other topics, while high growth cities in biotech contribute to topics that are more related to the entire set of existing topics. Slow growth and stable growth cities in biotech introduced more new topics, while fast growth cities in biotech introduced more promising topics. Slow growth cities also showed low levels of research collaboration, as compared with stable and high growth cities.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that epistemic communities dynamically shape the process of knowledge creation in a localized context and how the evolving interaction between different members of these communities enables knowledge to transit from its locus of emergence to the global market.
Abstract: This article aims to clarify how epistemic communities dynamically shape the process of knowledge creation in a localized context and how the evolving interaction between different members of these communities enables knowledge to transit from its locus of emergence to the global market. It is argued that these dynamics rest on a series of clashes between different frames of reference, which enables bits of knowledge to be progressively revealed, enhanced, nurtured, interpreted and enacted collectively.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that geographic factors that shaped genetic patterns in the past are also relevant for current transportation costs and could explain the correlation between trading flows and genetic distance.
Abstract: Genetic distance, geographic proximity, and economic variables are strongly correlated. Disentangling the effects of these factors is crucial for interpreting these correlations. We show that geographic factors that shaped genetic patterns in the past are also relevant for current transportation costs and could explain the correlation between trading flows and genetic distance. After controlling for geography, the impact of genetic distance on trade disappears. We make our point by constructing a database on geographical barriers, by introducing a novel dataset on transportation costs, and by proposing a new classification of goods according to the ease with which they can be transported.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take a long-term view of the trajectories of change in the East European clothing industry drawing on the experience of the Slovak Republic and examine the regional economic transformations that have resulted, how regional concentrations of clothing production sustained employment during the 1990s, and how tightening competitive pressures have unravelled these regional production systems leading to a differentiated landscape of firm-level upgrading strategies.
Abstract: Recent years have been testing times for the Eastern European clothing sector. Following two decades of deepening integration into European production networks, the sector has been struggling with the removal of trade quotas, increasing competitive pressures and the global economic crisis. This article takes a long-term view of the trajectories of change in the East European clothing industry drawing on the experience of the Slovak Republic. It examines the regional economic transformations that have resulted, how regional concentrations of clothing production sustained employment during the 1990s, and how tightening competitive pressures have unravelled these regional production systems leading to a differentiated landscape of firm-level upgrading strategies. The article argues that understandings of firm and regional upgrading and downgrading need to be attentive to the role of labour in the tightening landscape of ‘relative competitiveness’ and the political economy of regional integration policies, foreign ownership and the global economic crisis.
TL;DR: In this article, a more quantitative approach using a continuous space framework was taken to test whether proximity is important for the co-location of KIBS and MNEs in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Abstract: It has been argued that the relationship between knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and multinational enterprises (MNEs) within the regional economy is advantageous for urban and regional dynamics. It is likely that KIBS aim to locate proximate to (internationally operating) MNEs because of agglomeration externalities. The impact of MNEs on the birth of KIBS has rarely been examined, and the research on the new formation of KIBS has mainly adopted a case study approach, thus limiting the opportunity for generalization. We have taken a more quantitative approach using a continuous space framework to test whether proximity is important for the co-location of KIBS and MNEs in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Our results, controlled for other location factors, indicate that KIBS are co-agglomerated with MNEs and that the presence of a MNE significantly influences the birth of KIBS nearby, but the effect on such start-ups is considerably smaller than the positive effect of the presence of already established KIBS. We discuss the implications for urban and regional development strategies and policy initiatives.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how people are running businesses from home at an "older" age, displacing the notion of "retirement" with a work-retirement balance.
Abstract: Recent research in economic geography and management studies has scrutinized financialization and its permeation into ‘everyday’ life. In particular, studies have highlighted how government policy is transferring the responsibility of pension planning to individuals, where retirement income is funded from financial market returns. However, research has also suggested that a financialized model of retirement is not fully viable. Our study seeks to contribute to research on the geographies of retirement planning by examining an emerging model of retirement: older entrepreneurship. In doing so, we examine how households and individuals are attempting to manage the inadequacies of finance-centric retirement plans through the development of enterprises in ‘retirement’. Specifically, we explore how people are running businesses from home at an ‘older’ age, displacing the notion of ‘retirement’ with a work–retirement balance.
TL;DR: In this paper, the relative influence of static and dynamic agglomeration effects on the one hand and research networking on the other on regional R&D productivity in the European Union was examined empirically.
Abstract: This article examines empirically the relative influence of static and dynamic agglomeration effects on the one hand and research networking [measured by Framework Programme (FP) participation] on the other on regional R&D productivity in the European Union. We found that agglomeration is an important predictor of R&D productivity in the case of market-oriented (Edison-type) research while interregional scientific networking is an important determinant of R&D productivity in the case of science-driven (Pasteur-type) research. Importantly, the two determinants are never jointly significant. This finding indicates that in a knowledge production context, and contrary to what may happen in other areas of economic activity, agglomeration and scientific networking are neither substitutes nor complements but operate at distinct parts of the knowledge production process. Our findings uncover the principal components of regional knowledge production processes across European regions in a dynamic setting. They therefore allow us to explore counterfactual scenarios and characterize the effects of policy interventions. A simulation of the likely impacts of FP6 funds on regional R&D productivity demonstrates that the dynamic effect is greater in regions with high agglomeration.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a large Portuguese employer-employee panel data set to study the hypothesis that industrial agglomeration improves the quality of the firm-worker matching process.
Abstract: In this paper we use a novel approach and a large Portuguese employer-employee panel data set to study the hypothesis that industrial agglomeration improves the quality of the firm-worker matching process. Our method makes use of recent developments in the estimation and analysis of models with high-dimensional fixed effects. Using wage regressions with controls for multiple sources of observed and unobserved heterogeneity we find little evidence that the quality of matching increases with firm’s clustering within the same industry. This result supports Freedman’s (2008) analysis using U.S. data.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the impact of other forces that explain the presence of tall buildings, by examining the existence of a building height premium, and find that Dutch firms are willing to pay on average about 4% more for a building that is 10m taller, implying a substantial premium associated with tall buildings.
Abstract: Modern central business districts are characterized by high-rise office buildings, but their presence cannot be explained by standard urban economic models only. We aim to explore the impact of other forces that explain the presence of tall buildings, by examining the existence of a building height premium. We find that Dutch firms are willing to pay on average about 4% more for a building that is 10m taller, implying a substantial premium associated with tall buildings. This premium is thought to be due to a combination of a within-building agglomeration economies, a landmark and a view effect. Given functional form assumptions on the agglomeration effect, the results suggest that the sum of the landmark and view effect is about 2.8–5.5% of the rent for a building that is five times the average height.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of the Argentinean subsidiary of the chemical corporation BASF that uses qualitative interviews and a social network survey of knowledge sharing among employees is presented, and three sets of propositions about contextual and network opportunities for creating and enforcing innovations in the periphery of transnational corporations are developed.
Abstract: This article builds elements of a theory of peripheral innovation in transnational corporations. Although subsidiaries at the geographical periphery of the global economy and at the organizational periphery of their headquarters often contribute a negligible amount to the corporate global revenues, this article provides evidence on the role of these peripheries in knowledge creation and in enforcing controversial innovations. Based on an embedded and mixed-method case study of the Argentinean subsidiary of the chemical corporation BASF that uses qualitative interviews and a social network survey of knowledge sharing among employees, this article develops three sets of propositions about contextual and network opportunities for creating and enforcing innovations in the periphery of transnational corporations.
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of geography in high-tech employment growth across U.S. counties was investigated, including industry cluster effects, urbanization effects, proximity to a research university, and proximity in the urban hierarchy.
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of geography in high-tech employment growth across U.S. counties. The geographic dimensions examined include industry cluster effects, urbanization effects, proximity to a research university, and proximity in the urban hierarchy. Growth is assessed for overall high-tech employment and for employment in various high-tech sub-sectors. Econometric analyses are conducted separately for samples of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Among our primary findings, we do not find evidence of positive localization or within-industry cluster growth effects, generally finding negative growth effects. We instead find evidence of positive urbanization effects and growth penalties for greater distances from larger urban areas. Universities also appear to play their primary role in creating human capital rather than knowledge spillovers for nearby firms. Quantile regression analysis confirms the absence of within-industry cluster effects and importance of human capital for counties with fast growth in high-tech industries.
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative study of trade fairs in Asian economies is presented, and the authors find that temporary clusters exhibit a more diverse configuration of participants, being more compatible for knowledge creation, in more developed Asian economies.
Abstract: Acting as temporary clusters, trade fairs can turn into trans-local learning spaces in global industrial communities. However, up to now, how temporary gatherings are related to regional/national economies has not yet been systematically investigated. This article approaches the question with an international comparative study of trade fairs in Asian economies. Generally, consistent with a dynamic interpretation of temporary clusters, trade fairs exhibit a more diverse configuration of participants, being a setting more compatible for knowledge creation, in more developed Asian economies. However, structures of trade fairs are also influenced by organizational features of embedded economies. Further, seven flagship electronics fairs suggest an architecture of global temporary networks of clusters for high-end learning processes in the global knowledge economy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the concept of GlobalDestruction Networks (GDNs) and make two key arguments: (i) there areindeed limits to commodities' ongoingness when viewed from the perspective of the production, transfer and realization of value and (ii) workers play key roles in shapinghow GDNs are structured.
Abstract: Analysis of waste has largely focused on the physical transformation of commodities atthe ends of their lives. This has led to a discourse of ongoingness in which the re-useof commodities’ parts is often seen to be almost endless. Such a focus on form,though, fails to adequately account for the movement of value—used here in theMarxist sense of ‘congealed labour’—or to recognize the centrality of the labourprocess in shaping how previously used parts are prepared for inclusion in newcommodities. As a way to correct such failings, here we present the concept of GlobalDestruction Networks (GDNs). In so doing we make two key arguments: (i) there areindeed limits to commodities’ ongoingness when viewed from the perspective of theproduction, transfer and realization of value and (ii) workers play key roles in shapinghow GDNs are structured.Keywords: Ongoingness, value, labour process, wasteJEL classifications: B510, J210, L230, P120, P160Date submitted: 13 November 2012 Date accepted: 9 May 2013‘Waste’ is the political other of capitalist ‘value’, repeated with difference as part of capital’sspatial histories of accumulation.Gidwani and Reddy (2011: 1625)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed factors shaping technological capabilities in USA and European countries, and showed that the differences between the two continents in this respect are much smaller than commonly assumed, indicating a tendency toward convergence in technological capabilities for the sample as a whole between 1998 and 2008.
Abstract: This article analyzes factors shaping technological capabilities in USA and European countries, and shows that the differences between the two continents in this respect are much smaller than commonly assumed. The analysis demonstrates a tendency toward convergence in technological capabilities for the sample as a whole between 1998 and 2008. The results indicate that social capabilities, such as well-developed public knowledge infrastructure, an egalitarian distribution of income, a participatory democracy and prevalence of public safety condition the growth of technological capabilities. Possible effects of other factors, such as agglomeration, urbanization, industrial specialization, migration and knowledge spillovers are also considered.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify some of the theoretical and conceptual issues raised by recognising the absence of consideration of the illegal/illicit in the economic geography literature and to consider in a preliminary way the implications of this lacuna.
Abstract: My purpose in this article is selectively to draw upon and use the available evidence to summarise the various forms/types of illegal activities, their relationships to the formal legal economy, their various spatialities and geographies, and to identify some of the theoretical and conceptual issues raised by recognising the absence of consideration of the illegal/illicit in the economic geography literature and to consider in a preliminary way some of the implications of this lacuna. This will inevitably be a partial and preliminary exercise, not least because of the fragmented nature of the available empirical evidence on illegal economies.