Introduction: diversity, innovation and clusters – spatial perspectives (original) (raw)
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Local Diversity, Human Creativity, and Technological Innovation
Growth and Change, 2001
The purpose of this paper is to point out some shortcomings of traditional approaches to the study of "knowledge spillovers" and to suggest an alternative based on how knowledge is actually created and exchanged by individuals. Which regional setting is the best incubator of technological change and economic growth? Is this promoted by regional diversity or specialization of economic activity? This study will include economic analyses of geographically localized "dynamic knowledge externalities, Jacob's externalities, or adding new work to old, industrial classification and technology combination, human creativity, and technology combination through human action and imaginative use of resources. Employees add to, or switch their product line; individuals move from one type of production to another; individuals observe a product/process in another setting and incorporate it; individuals possessing different skills and working for different firms collaborate; and urban diversity and resource collaboration are utilized. It is concluded that problems are solved through the combination of previously unrelated things and that promoting regional specialization at the expense of spontaneously evolved local diversity might be a counter-productive policy.
Diversity, innovation and entrepreneurship: where are we and where should we go in future studies?
Small Business Economics
In this paper, we review and comment upon the development of the literature on diversity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In an overview of previous studies and various strands of literatures, we outline and argue that to better understand the intricate dynamic relationships between diversity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and regional development there is a strong need to further develop “the economics of spatial diversity.” We further argue that this development may benefit from combining various literatures based upon sound economic micro-foundations, to develop a more absolute understanding of diversity and fulfill the need of more clear mechanisms for future empirical testing. Obviously, this is important both from a research point of view and in order to provide policymakers with a powerful set of analytical tools. We call for more analytical work and more high-quality empirical studies. With a set of papers, we believe this special issue to provide a contribution in this di...
International Journal of Business Marketing and Management (IJBMM), 2023
Knowledge plays a vital role in promoting economic development. Studying the relationship between technology and the knowledge space is extremely important for countries to develop sustainable development strategies. This study comprehensively assesses the link between knowledge spaces and technology, then analyzes its influence on regional economic diversification. In addition, the study also assesses regional resilience and the importance of national innovation systems. The paper also shows that, for sustainable economic development, countries need to focus on building networks and improving the management efficiency of the economy, smart specialization, and promoting creative innovation.
Cultural Diversity and Local Labour Markets
Regional Studies, 2012
Cultural Diversity and Local Labour Markets * During the last decade there have been marked changes in the composition of the non-native workforce in the German labour market. In particular there has been a notable increase in the diversity of nationalities of which the foreign workforce is composed. In this paper we investigate the effects of this diversity for native employees. Our analysis is conducted at the local level and uses a panel of 326 Western German regions over the time period 1995-2006. When considering high-skilled foreign workers, we find that both the size of this group and the diversification into different nationalities raise local wages and employment for native employees. For low-skilled foreign workers we find negative size effects. However, these negative effects can be partly offset if the group of low-skilled foreigners is culturally diversified. Our results imply that diversity raises productivity at the local level, but that it is important to distinguish the skill composition of the foreign workforce. These findings remain robust in a variety of robustness checks that take into account omitted variable bias, selfselection of foreigners into particular regions, and spatial autocorrelation.
Final Report, Urban Fellowship Program, 2001
Regional specialization has lorig been thought to be both the logical outcome of market competition and the best geographical setting for innovation. Partly as a result of this belief, policies promoting regional specialization through “industrial clusters” have enjoyed worldwide popularity in the last decade. In recent years, however, a heated debate as to whether local diversity or specialization of economic activity is the best incubator of technological change and economic growth has been raging. Some authors argue that ...
Regional economic diversity and diversification
Growth and Change, 1995
Regional scientists have long attempted to develop meaningful definitions and measures of economic diversity and diversification, and to establish functional relationships between diversity, diversification. and economic performance. The multiplicity of definitions and measures explains, in part, the confusion about these relationships. A framework that sorts out the overlaps, contradictions, and gaps of the various definitions and measures IS needed. Such a framework would explicitly address the question, "What is the relationship between a region's changing economic structure and performance?" In this paper it is suggested that an inputoutput model that incorporates elements of portfolio theory be used as the integrating framework for analysis.
Urban Diversity, Human Creativity and Technology Combination
Relation, 2007
In recent years, there has been a heated debate as to which is better conducive to technological change and economic growth: local diversity or specialization of economic activity. Some authors argue that local diversity is more conducive to development through" interindustry knowledge spillover" effects, while others pretend to show that local specialization is generally more conducive to innovation. One of the reasons that this debate remains so controversial is that there is no clear understanding of the processes by which ...
The division of labor need not imply regional specialization
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2010
Despite some long-standing arguments against it, the regional specialization of economic activities is generally deemed desirable for at least three reasons: 1) the law of comparative advantage: 2) localized economies of scale: and 3) knowledge spillovers. We argue that none of these arguments, whether by itself or in combination, is sufficient to judge regional specialization more desirable than a more diversified economic base. Our core argument is that the methodological foundation underlying these arguments suffers from a fundamental flaw. Taking a methodological individualist perspective as our point of departure, we argue that spatial units, such as regions, nations or locally-based networks of individuals, are not entities which specialize, produce or innovate, and that building a logically consistent argument on such flawed foundations results in ultimately untenable conclusions. More specifically, we claim that 1) the law of comparative advantage, while valid for individuals and firms, does not necessarily imply regional specialization: 2) localized economies of scale are seldom specific to one industry and external in all but the regional level: and lastly 3) the relative importance of intraindustrial (or industry specific) and interindustrial knowledge spillovers remains an empirical question whose study would benefit from more disaggregated (individualistic) perspective. We conclude by suggesting that a proper recognition of the underpinning microfoundations of regional economies actually militates for spontaneously evolved diversity. JEL -codes: R11, R58, O18
A socio-economic impact analysis of cultural diversity
research memorandum, 2011
This paper aims to map out the consequences of migration flows for modern cities, and in particular it analyses various aspects of urban cultural diversity. It argues that the sustainable and innovative development of cities under conditions of creative cultures is possible, and it presents a 'pentagon model' as an analytical tool for investigating the necessary conditions for achieving a balanced and thriving urban development. The paper also pays attention to the socioeconomic aspects of urban pluriformity caused by the emergence of ethnic or migrant entrepreneurs. The paper presents an integrated overview of the advantages and drawbacks of cultural diversity in relation to mass migration inflows into modern cities. A major part of the paper is devoted to the positive and negative socioeconomic implications of cultural diversity. To that end, a series of extensive survey tables is provided. Finally, the relationship between diversity and innovativeness is addressed.