Urban Gråsjö - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Urban Gråsjö

When regional growth studies are conducted, a common measure of economic growth is the wage sum. ... more When regional growth studies are conducted, a common measure of economic growth is the wage sum. One reason for this may be the limited access to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) data on regional level. However, in Sweden there exists GDP data on municipal level, which enables studies where the effects of using GDP data or wage data can be compared. The aim of the present study is to investigate the difference the use of the measures GMP (Gross Municipal Growth) and the sum of wages has on growth models. Since the two measures are similar but not identical the choice of measure of growth can influence the conclusions of an investigation. This might lead to contradictory results on for instance how the accessibilty to university research influences the economic growth (Andersson, Gråsjö & Karlsson 2007, 2008). Preliminary results indicate high positive correlations between changes in GMP and wage sum on municipal level. However, when data on GMP per capita and wage sum per capita are use...

Springer eBooks, Dec 20, 2018

New knowledge generated by an economic agent in a region will tend over time to flow to other eco... more New knowledge generated by an economic agent in a region will tend over time to flow to other economic agents in the same region but also to economic agents in other regions. It is quite common in the literature to use the concept of knowledge spillovers for such knowledge flows, irrespective of whether they are intended or non-intended. The potential for intra-regional knowledge spillover effects depends on the volume and character of the generation on new knowledge in each region as well as of the general characteristics of the individual regional economic milieu, i.e., those location attributes, which are regionally trapped and which include how well integrated it is with other regions. The larger this potential, the higher the probability that firms dependent upon knowledge spillovers will locate there and the higher probability that entrepreneurs will take advantage of this potential to launch innovations and to create new knowledge-based firms. To the extent that firms and entrepreneurs can enjoy these knowledge spillovers, they represent an externality or more specifically a knowledge externality in the regional economy. Great importance is in the literature attributed to knowledge spillovers and knowledge externalities as drivers of regional economic development. Some authors, for example, claim that regional variations in localised knowledge spillovers are one of the main reasons behind regional variations in innovation performance. Against this background, the purpose of this chapter is, based upon a general characterization of knowledge flows, to analyse the character of knowledge externalities and, in particular, their sources, their economic nature, their recipients, their mechanisms and channels, their geographic reach, and their economic consequences generally and for regional economic development in particular.

We explore the link between invention and innovation on the one hand and the level of economic ac... more We explore the link between invention and innovation on the one hand and the level of economic activity and economic growth in Sweden by using patents granted and the quality of patens as our indicators of invention and innovation respectively. Our results indicate that both types of measures are able to explain the level and the changing levelof economic activity equally well. However, an important difference is that the economic activity is affected differently by the two measures. We find that inventions have the strongest marginal effect in regions where economic activity is the highest. Instead, innovations have similar marginal effects across regions with different economic activity. Our interpretation is that quality-adjusted patents sort out "bad" from "good" patents in a manner which reflect economic importance.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jul 25, 2014

The contributions in this volume extend our understanding about the different ways distance impac... more The contributions in this volume extend our understanding about the different ways distance impacts the knowledge conversion process. Knowledge itself is a raw input into the innovation process which can then transform it into an economically useful output such as prototypes, patents, licences and new companies. New knowledge is often tacit and thus tends to be highly localized, as indeed is the conversion process. Consequently, as the book demonstrates, space or distance matter significantly in the transformation of raw knowledge into beneficial knowledge.

Virtual Experiences : Towards an understanding of the role of ICT in the innovation systems of cr... more Virtual Experiences : Towards an understanding of the role of ICT in the innovation systems of creative industries

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the effects of national and international knowledge flo... more The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the effects of national and international knowledge flows on innovative activity. Therefore a knowledge production function is estimated with patent applic ...

Effekter av hogre utbildning pa regional utveckling : WP4 delrapport inom K3-projektet ”Nya vagar”

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Jun 1, 2012

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Feb 13, 2014

Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to... more Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to domestic firms, they have a larger fraction of skilled workers, higher R&D to sales ratios and established networks to knowledge sources in several different countries. As illustrated by the so-called ‘anchor-tenant’ hypothesis, they can be described as “knowledge spillover agents”. MNF affiliates, as defined in this paper, are firms that are part of large domestic and foreign MNFs. In this paper we test whether the local presence of MNF affiliates generate spillover effects on the local industry. The empirical analysis focuses on assessing whether the productivity of the regional manufacturing industry of non-affiliated firms is higher in regions with a large fraction of MNF affiliates. The analysis uses data on Swedish firms and is conducted on regional level as well as on firm level. The regressions show that local presence of MNFs in a region has a positive effect on Gross Regional Product (GRP) from non-MNFs. The paper also shows that regions where the low-productive non-MNFs are located appear to benefit the most from local presence of MNFs. The MNFs have, on the other hand, no effect on non-MNF productivity in regions where the high-productive non-MNFs are located.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Dec 2, 2004

The main purpose in this paper is to study to what extent accessibility to R&D can explain patent... more The main purpose in this paper is to study to what extent accessibility to R&D can explain patent production. Therefore a knowledge production function is estimated both on aggregated level and for different industrial sectors. The output of the knowledge production is the number patent applications in Swedish municipalities from 1994 to 1999. In order to account for the importance of proximity, the explanatory variables are expressed as accessibilities to university and company R&D. The total accessibility is then decomposed into local, intra-regional and interregional accessibility to R&D. The results indicate that high accessibility (local) to company R&D has the greatest effect on patent production. Local accessibility to university R&D has also a significant positive effect but the magnitude is smaller. There is also evidence that intra-regional accessibility to company R&D affects patent production positively.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 28, 2006

The main purpose of the study in this paper is to establish to what extent accessibility to R&D a... more The main purpose of the study in this paper is to establish to what extent accessibility to R&D and human capital can explain regional export. This is done by estimating knowledge production functions, with export value and high valued exports in Swedish municipalities from 1997 to 1999 as outputs. In order to account for geographical proximity, the explanatory variables are expressed as accessibilities to R&D and human capital. The total accessibility is divided into three geographical levels; local (within the municipality), intra-regional and interregional accessibility to R&D and human capital. R&D conducted at universities and in companies is measured in man years and the numbers of people with at least three years of university studies measures the amount of human capital. The estimations are conducted with quantile regressions since the distributions of the dependent variables are highly skewed with a few very influential outliers. Due to problems with multicollinearity it is not easy to tell if the variations in the municipalities' exports are explained by human capital or company R&D. But the results in the paper indicate that accessibility to human capital has the greatest positive effects. The value of exported products is mainly affected by local accessibility to human capital (and company R&D). The intra-and interregional accessibilities play a more important roll when the number of high valued export products in Swedish municipalities is the output.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 31, 2006

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Jun 5, 2013

Accessibility has for many years been a widely used tool in transportation research. Many definit... more Accessibility has for many years been a widely used tool in transportation research. Many definitions have been suggested and researchers have constructed numerous mathematical formulations to measure its value to be able to evaluate the relationships between the nature of the transport systems and the patterns of land use. Such correlations have been used especially in assessing existing transport systems and forecasting their performance to provide decision-makers with ideas about the need for investments in the transport systems. However, accessibility measures can be regarded as the spatial counterparts of discounting. The measures represent the spatial distribution of economic agents and their activities in a simple way that imposes a very clear structure upon the relationship between these agents and their activities and their environment. Various frictional effects arising from geographical distance between economic agents determine their interaction options, i.e., their options to trade, to cooperate, to learn, to commute, etc. Observing that the time sensitivities of the economic agents vary between different spatial scales (and between different economic activities) we may impose a spatial structure (e.g. local, intraregional, interregional and international), which offers opportunities to define variables in such a way that spatial dependencies can be accommodated. These newly defined variables can then be used in empirical explanations of various spatial phenomena, such as patent output, new firm formation, the emergence of new export products, and economic growth in different spatial units. We will in this paper against this background show that accessibility is an underused analytical and empirical tool in regional science with an underestimated potential. The paper contains several empirical examples where the accessibility concept has been used in previous research. These empirical studies are carried out in a Swedish context and show the applicability of the accessibility method. However, it is a general method and there is no reason why the method does not apply also for other countries.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 28, 2006

On the specification of regression models with spatial dependence 1-an application of the accessi... more On the specification of regression models with spatial dependence 1-an application of the accessibility concept Martin Andersson (JIBS) & Urban Gråsjö (HTU)

ABSTRACT University and Industry R&D Accessibility and Regional Growth A shortcoming of t... more ABSTRACT University and Industry R&D Accessibility and Regional Growth A shortcoming of traditional endogenous growth approaches is their assumption that the stock of knowledge is generally accessible across space. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the contribution of R&D to economic growth in Swedish municipalities, taking account of the variation in R&D accessibility among different municipalities. We argue that the interaction possibilities at different spatial scales can be properly represented by an accessibility approach which discounts interaction potentials using travel time distances. The main result of the analysis is that knowledge accessibility in a given period has a statistically significant effect on the growth in value-added per employee in subsequent periods. Furthermore, the knowledge resources in a given municipality tend to have a positive effect on the growth of another municipality, conditional on the municipalities belonging to the same functional region. Keywords: nowledge, economic growth, accessibility, regional, spillovers JEL classification codes: R110, O520, O300, O400

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 31, 2006

Knowledge is maintained as a core variable for growth in a large set of contemporary theories. In... more Knowledge is maintained as a core variable for growth in a large set of contemporary theories. In this paper we have analyzed the relationship between knowledge accessibility and regional growth. The knowledge resource used in our model R&D conducted at universities and in companies. A precise definition of accessibility was introduced and calculations were based on actual travel time distances. Using data at the municipality level in Sweden, the hypothesis that knowledge accessibility has a positive effect on growth cannot be rejected. The knowledge accessibility in a given period has a statistically significant effect on the growth in value-added per employee in subsequent periods. The total accessibility of a municipality was divided into three types, (i) intra-municipal accessibility, (ii) intra-regional accessibility and (iii) extra-regional accessibility. The paper has shown that this division gives a clear indication of that there is spatial dependence in the sense that the knowledge resources in a given municipality tend to have a positive effect on the growth of another municipality, conditional on that the municipalities belongs to the same functional region. Thus, the results of the analysis indicate that knowledge flows transcend municipal borders, but that they tend to be bounded within functional regions.

When regional growth studies are conducted, a common measure of economic growth is the wage sum. ... more When regional growth studies are conducted, a common measure of economic growth is the wage sum. One reason for this may be the limited access to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) data on regional level. However, in Sweden there exists GDP data on municipal level, which enables studies where the effects of using GDP data or wage data can be compared. The aim of the present study is to investigate the difference the use of the measures GMP (Gross Municipal Growth) and the sum of wages has on growth models. Since the two measures are similar but not identical the choice of measure of growth can influence the conclusions of an investigation. This might lead to contradictory results on for instance how the accessibilty to university research influences the economic growth (Andersson, Gråsjö & Karlsson 2007, 2008). Preliminary results indicate high positive correlations between changes in GMP and wage sum on municipal level. However, when data on GMP per capita and wage sum per capita are use...

Springer eBooks, Dec 20, 2018

New knowledge generated by an economic agent in a region will tend over time to flow to other eco... more New knowledge generated by an economic agent in a region will tend over time to flow to other economic agents in the same region but also to economic agents in other regions. It is quite common in the literature to use the concept of knowledge spillovers for such knowledge flows, irrespective of whether they are intended or non-intended. The potential for intra-regional knowledge spillover effects depends on the volume and character of the generation on new knowledge in each region as well as of the general characteristics of the individual regional economic milieu, i.e., those location attributes, which are regionally trapped and which include how well integrated it is with other regions. The larger this potential, the higher the probability that firms dependent upon knowledge spillovers will locate there and the higher probability that entrepreneurs will take advantage of this potential to launch innovations and to create new knowledge-based firms. To the extent that firms and entrepreneurs can enjoy these knowledge spillovers, they represent an externality or more specifically a knowledge externality in the regional economy. Great importance is in the literature attributed to knowledge spillovers and knowledge externalities as drivers of regional economic development. Some authors, for example, claim that regional variations in localised knowledge spillovers are one of the main reasons behind regional variations in innovation performance. Against this background, the purpose of this chapter is, based upon a general characterization of knowledge flows, to analyse the character of knowledge externalities and, in particular, their sources, their economic nature, their recipients, their mechanisms and channels, their geographic reach, and their economic consequences generally and for regional economic development in particular.

We explore the link between invention and innovation on the one hand and the level of economic ac... more We explore the link between invention and innovation on the one hand and the level of economic activity and economic growth in Sweden by using patents granted and the quality of patens as our indicators of invention and innovation respectively. Our results indicate that both types of measures are able to explain the level and the changing levelof economic activity equally well. However, an important difference is that the economic activity is affected differently by the two measures. We find that inventions have the strongest marginal effect in regions where economic activity is the highest. Instead, innovations have similar marginal effects across regions with different economic activity. Our interpretation is that quality-adjusted patents sort out "bad" from "good" patents in a manner which reflect economic importance.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jul 25, 2014

The contributions in this volume extend our understanding about the different ways distance impac... more The contributions in this volume extend our understanding about the different ways distance impacts the knowledge conversion process. Knowledge itself is a raw input into the innovation process which can then transform it into an economically useful output such as prototypes, patents, licences and new companies. New knowledge is often tacit and thus tends to be highly localized, as indeed is the conversion process. Consequently, as the book demonstrates, space or distance matter significantly in the transformation of raw knowledge into beneficial knowledge.

Virtual Experiences : Towards an understanding of the role of ICT in the innovation systems of cr... more Virtual Experiences : Towards an understanding of the role of ICT in the innovation systems of creative industries

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the effects of national and international knowledge flo... more The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the effects of national and international knowledge flows on innovative activity. Therefore a knowledge production function is estimated with patent applic ...

Effekter av hogre utbildning pa regional utveckling : WP4 delrapport inom K3-projektet ”Nya vagar”

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Jun 1, 2012

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Feb 13, 2014

Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to... more Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to domestic firms, they have a larger fraction of skilled workers, higher R&D to sales ratios and established networks to knowledge sources in several different countries. As illustrated by the so-called ‘anchor-tenant’ hypothesis, they can be described as “knowledge spillover agents”. MNF affiliates, as defined in this paper, are firms that are part of large domestic and foreign MNFs. In this paper we test whether the local presence of MNF affiliates generate spillover effects on the local industry. The empirical analysis focuses on assessing whether the productivity of the regional manufacturing industry of non-affiliated firms is higher in regions with a large fraction of MNF affiliates. The analysis uses data on Swedish firms and is conducted on regional level as well as on firm level. The regressions show that local presence of MNFs in a region has a positive effect on Gross Regional Product (GRP) from non-MNFs. The paper also shows that regions where the low-productive non-MNFs are located appear to benefit the most from local presence of MNFs. The MNFs have, on the other hand, no effect on non-MNF productivity in regions where the high-productive non-MNFs are located.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Dec 2, 2004

The main purpose in this paper is to study to what extent accessibility to R&D can explain patent... more The main purpose in this paper is to study to what extent accessibility to R&D can explain patent production. Therefore a knowledge production function is estimated both on aggregated level and for different industrial sectors. The output of the knowledge production is the number patent applications in Swedish municipalities from 1994 to 1999. In order to account for the importance of proximity, the explanatory variables are expressed as accessibilities to university and company R&D. The total accessibility is then decomposed into local, intra-regional and interregional accessibility to R&D. The results indicate that high accessibility (local) to company R&D has the greatest effect on patent production. Local accessibility to university R&D has also a significant positive effect but the magnitude is smaller. There is also evidence that intra-regional accessibility to company R&D affects patent production positively.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 28, 2006

The main purpose of the study in this paper is to establish to what extent accessibility to R&D a... more The main purpose of the study in this paper is to establish to what extent accessibility to R&D and human capital can explain regional export. This is done by estimating knowledge production functions, with export value and high valued exports in Swedish municipalities from 1997 to 1999 as outputs. In order to account for geographical proximity, the explanatory variables are expressed as accessibilities to R&D and human capital. The total accessibility is divided into three geographical levels; local (within the municipality), intra-regional and interregional accessibility to R&D and human capital. R&D conducted at universities and in companies is measured in man years and the numbers of people with at least three years of university studies measures the amount of human capital. The estimations are conducted with quantile regressions since the distributions of the dependent variables are highly skewed with a few very influential outliers. Due to problems with multicollinearity it is not easy to tell if the variations in the municipalities' exports are explained by human capital or company R&D. But the results in the paper indicate that accessibility to human capital has the greatest positive effects. The value of exported products is mainly affected by local accessibility to human capital (and company R&D). The intra-and interregional accessibilities play a more important roll when the number of high valued export products in Swedish municipalities is the output.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 31, 2006

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Jun 5, 2013

Accessibility has for many years been a widely used tool in transportation research. Many definit... more Accessibility has for many years been a widely used tool in transportation research. Many definitions have been suggested and researchers have constructed numerous mathematical formulations to measure its value to be able to evaluate the relationships between the nature of the transport systems and the patterns of land use. Such correlations have been used especially in assessing existing transport systems and forecasting their performance to provide decision-makers with ideas about the need for investments in the transport systems. However, accessibility measures can be regarded as the spatial counterparts of discounting. The measures represent the spatial distribution of economic agents and their activities in a simple way that imposes a very clear structure upon the relationship between these agents and their activities and their environment. Various frictional effects arising from geographical distance between economic agents determine their interaction options, i.e., their options to trade, to cooperate, to learn, to commute, etc. Observing that the time sensitivities of the economic agents vary between different spatial scales (and between different economic activities) we may impose a spatial structure (e.g. local, intraregional, interregional and international), which offers opportunities to define variables in such a way that spatial dependencies can be accommodated. These newly defined variables can then be used in empirical explanations of various spatial phenomena, such as patent output, new firm formation, the emergence of new export products, and economic growth in different spatial units. We will in this paper against this background show that accessibility is an underused analytical and empirical tool in regional science with an underestimated potential. The paper contains several empirical examples where the accessibility concept has been used in previous research. These empirical studies are carried out in a Swedish context and show the applicability of the accessibility method. However, it is a general method and there is no reason why the method does not apply also for other countries.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 28, 2006

On the specification of regression models with spatial dependence 1-an application of the accessi... more On the specification of regression models with spatial dependence 1-an application of the accessibility concept Martin Andersson (JIBS) & Urban Gråsjö (HTU)

ABSTRACT University and Industry R&D Accessibility and Regional Growth A shortcoming of t... more ABSTRACT University and Industry R&D Accessibility and Regional Growth A shortcoming of traditional endogenous growth approaches is their assumption that the stock of knowledge is generally accessible across space. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the contribution of R&D to economic growth in Swedish municipalities, taking account of the variation in R&D accessibility among different municipalities. We argue that the interaction possibilities at different spatial scales can be properly represented by an accessibility approach which discounts interaction potentials using travel time distances. The main result of the analysis is that knowledge accessibility in a given period has a statistically significant effect on the growth in value-added per employee in subsequent periods. Furthermore, the knowledge resources in a given municipality tend to have a positive effect on the growth of another municipality, conditional on the municipalities belonging to the same functional region. Keywords: nowledge, economic growth, accessibility, regional, spillovers JEL classification codes: R110, O520, O300, O400

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 31, 2006

Knowledge is maintained as a core variable for growth in a large set of contemporary theories. In... more Knowledge is maintained as a core variable for growth in a large set of contemporary theories. In this paper we have analyzed the relationship between knowledge accessibility and regional growth. The knowledge resource used in our model R&D conducted at universities and in companies. A precise definition of accessibility was introduced and calculations were based on actual travel time distances. Using data at the municipality level in Sweden, the hypothesis that knowledge accessibility has a positive effect on growth cannot be rejected. The knowledge accessibility in a given period has a statistically significant effect on the growth in value-added per employee in subsequent periods. The total accessibility of a municipality was divided into three types, (i) intra-municipal accessibility, (ii) intra-regional accessibility and (iii) extra-regional accessibility. The paper has shown that this division gives a clear indication of that there is spatial dependence in the sense that the knowledge resources in a given municipality tend to have a positive effect on the growth of another municipality, conditional on that the municipalities belongs to the same functional region. Thus, the results of the analysis indicate that knowledge flows transcend municipal borders, but that they tend to be bounded within functional regions.