Localised knowledge spillovers vs. innovative milieux: Knowledge “tacitness” reconsidered (original) (raw)
2005, Papers in Regional Science
Abstract. This article provides a critical discussion of the recent econometric literature on “localised knowledge spillovers” and the related notion of tacit knowledge. The basic claim of the article is that the increasing, and more or less automatic reliance of industrial geographers upon such econometric evidence and theoretical concepts to support their work on industrial districts, hi-tech agglomerations and, more broadly, local innovation systems is not well placed and risks to generate conceptual confusion and to distort research agendas. Following some recent advances in the economics of knowledge, the article also suggests that more research efforts should instead be devoted to exploring how knowledge is actually transmitted, among whom, at what distance, and on the basis of which codebooks.
Related papers
Review of Regional Studies, 2004
This paper investigates the extent to which innovative activity in a metropolitan area is affected by knowledge spillovers in the neighboring metropolitan areas as well as in the metropolitan area itself. The spatial econometric analysis shows that innovative activity in a metropolitan area is positively affected by both specialization and diversity externalities in high technology industries in the metropolitan area, and that there also exist geographic knowledge spillovers across metropolitan boundaries. In addition, this study finds that high technology specialization externalities are more localized than high technology diversity externalities.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.