Beyond the Silicon Valley: University R&D and high-technology location (original) (raw)

High Technology Employment, Wages And University R&D Spillovers: Evidence From Us Cities

Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 1999

Using 4 years of data from 36 American cities and 6 high technology groupings we present thc first estimates of University R&D spillover effects on ctnployrnent at this level of disaggregation, while controlling for wages, prior innovations, state fixed efrccts, and saniple selectivity hias. We find robust evidence that lagged and disaggrcgated university R&D is a significant determinant of city high technology cinploymcnt and some evidence for employment effects of innovation.

Research Universities and Regional High-Tech Firm Start-Up and Exit

Economic Inquiry, 2012

If localized knowledge spillovers are present in the university setting, higher rates of both start-up and/or survival would be observed in areas that are geographically proximate to the university. Using a detailed industry data set for Texas for 1999:3-2005:2, we analyze start-up and exit rates for high-tech firms. Based on a Poisson quasimaximum likelihood estimation, we find evidence that the level of R&D and proximity of a research institution positively affects the likelihood of technology start-ups. However, using both the Cox proportional hazards model and Kaplan-Meier approach, our results suggest that geographic proximity to knowledge centers does not reduce hazard rates. (JEL R12, R53, O18)

Geographic Determinants of Hi-Tech Employment Growth in US Counties

ERSA conference papers, 2011

This paper examines the spatial pattern of US county employment growth in high-tech industries. The spatial growth dimensions examined include industry cluster effects, urbanization effects, proximity to a college, and proximity in the urban hierarchy. Growth is examined for overall high-tech employment and for employment in various high-tech sectors. Econometric analyses are conducted for a sample of all counties and for metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties separately. Among our primary findings, we ...

Geographical Spillovers and University Research: A Spatial EconometricPerspective

Growth and Change, 2000

Using data for U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, an earlier study of aggregate local geographic research spillovers generated by universities (Anselin et al.1997) was extended to a sectorally disaggregated level. These findings suggest the existence of significant sectoral variation with respect to local university effects on innovation. Apparent differences were found across sectors with respect to the "mix" of applied local knowledge inputs in general, and the extent to which university research plays a role in innovation in particular. The main conclusion is that local university spillovers seem to be specific to certain industries, such that at the twodigit SIC level, no university spillover effects are at work in the Drugs and Chemicals (SIC28) and in the Machinery (SIC35) sectors. On the contrary, very strong and significant university research spillovers are evidenced in the Electronics (SIC36) and the Instruments (SIC38) industries. These spillovers extend beyond the boundary of the MSA within a 75-mile range from the central city.

Geography and high-tech employment growth in US counties

2012

This paper investigates the role of geography in high-tech employment growth across US 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.

Universities, Agglomeration, and Regional Innovation

Review of Regional Studies, 2019

Urban agglomeration is an important correlate to regional innovation. Large population centers pool knowledge workers and facilitate spillovers essential to innovative activity. And large populations provide more cost-effective locations for non-labor inputs to innovation, including local infrastructure that may facilitate innovative activity. However, university locations may also agglomerate these innovative inputs, even absent the agglomerative effects of large populations. Regional policymakers may find it useful to differentiate between various correlates to innovation. This paper exploits the collinearity of universities and population with regional human capital to apportion the relationship between these regional correlates of innovation into human-capital related and non-human-capital related channels. We identify a correlation between universities and regional innovation that reflects a relationship between innovation and regional human capital correlated with university p...

University Knowledge Spillovers and regional start-up rates: supply and Demand-Side Factors

Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, 2014

This paper investigates regional start-up rates in the knowledge intensive services and high-tech industries. Integrating insights from economic geography and population ecology into the literature on entrepreneurship, we develop a theoretical framework which captures how both supply-and demand-side factors mold the regional bedrock for start-ups in knowledge intensive industries. Using multi-level data of all knowledge intensive start-ups across 286 Swedish municipalities between 1994 and 2002 we demonstrate how characteristics of the economic and political milieu within each region influence the ratio of firm births. We find that economically affluent regions dominate entrepreneurial activity in terms of firm births, yet a number of much smaller rural regions also revealed high levels of start-ups. Knowledge spillovers from universities and firm R&D strongly affect the start-up rates for both knowledge intensive manufacturing and knowledge intensive services firms. However, the start-up rate of knowledge-intensive service firms is tied more strongly to the supply of highly educated individuals and the political regulatory regime within the municipality. This suggests that knowledge intensive service-start-ups are more susceptible to both demand-side and supply-side context than manufacturing start-ups. Our study contributes to the growing stream of research that explains entrepreneurial activity as shaped by contextual factors, most notably educational institutions that contribute to technology startups.

University spillovers and new business location in high-technology sectors: Spanish evidence

Small Business Economics, 2011

This paper examines the relationship between knowledge spillovers from universities and new business location in high-technology sectors. We focus on the contribution to new business formation through spillovers stemming from three main university outputs: knowledge-based graduates, research activities, and technological knowledge. We construct a new dataset with information on 604 companies and 63 universities in Spain and group the data across 36 geographical areas from 2001 to 2004 (144 observations). After controlling for several traditional cost factors and agglomeration characteristics, we find that university spillovers are relevant in explaining the location of new businesses in high-technology sectors in Spain. Further, our analysis draws attention to the relevance of graduates as the main source of spillovers, while research activities and university technology do not have significant effects.

New universities, new industries and regional performance

This paper analyzes the impact of universities on regional specialization and knowledge intensive production, and presents some policy conclusions. To achieve this end we first exploit a unique dataset on the researchers' view regarding the universities role in commercialization, distinguishing new universities (established around 1970) from old universities (established in the 15 th and 17 th century). In the subsequent stage we implement spatially disaggregated data to examine the correlation between regional specialization in -as well as the level of production of -knowledge intensive industries and the presence of universities. The results reveal that academic researchers favor an increased participation by the universities' in the commercialization of public research. There are however also considerable differences across universities, albeit primarily not related to the age and traditions of universities. Rather, the environment in which the universities are embedded seems to be decisive both with regard to norms at the universities, and their impact on regional specialization and level of knowledge intensive production. This seems to be a more important factor then the transfer of intellectual property rights to the universities.

1 New Universities, New Industries and Regional Performance

2005

This paper analyzes the impact of universities on regional specialization and knowledge in-tensive production, and presents some policy conclusions. To achieve this end we first exploit a unique dataset on the researchers ’ view regarding the universities role in commercialization, distinguishing new universities (established around 1970) from old universities (established in the 15th and 17th century). In the subsequent stage we implement spatially disaggregated data to examine the correlation between regional specialization in- as well as the level of produc-tion of – knowledge intensive industries and the presence of universities. The results reveal that academic researchers favor an increased participation by the universities ’ in the commer-cialization of public research. There are however also considerable differences across univer-sities, albeit primarily not related to the age and traditions of universities. Rather, the envi-ronment in which the universities are embedded see...