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In this paper, we propose a model of national innovation production that formalizes the role of trade partnerships as a channel of knowledge spillovers across countries. The model is used to investigate the energy efficiency technological domain in the European Union (EU) using a panel database covering 19 EU countries for the time span 1990–2015. The model is estimated by using a novel empirical strategy which allows to assess the knowledge spillover effects benefiting a country depending on its relative position in the trade network, and correct for common endogeneity concerns. We show that being central in the trade network is a significant determinant of a country's innovative performance, and that learning-by-exporting mechanisms are responsible for increased innovation performances. We further reveal that neglecting network effects may significantly reduce our understanding of domestic innovation patterns. Finally, we find that the benefits obtained from knowledge diffusion varies with the domestic absorptive capacity and policy mix composition. Our main implication is that policy design informed by network-based case studies could help maximizing the exploitation of positive knowledge spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to empirically examine the effects of related and unrelated variety on per employee income in Polish NUTS 2 regions, and the resulting income inequality. The study is based on regional panel data for the 2003–2018 period using the GMM estimator system. The positive effect of related variety on per employee income and the negative effect of unrelated variety on per employee income are reported. Our simulation results show that regional income inequality could be reduced by promoting related variety in eastern regions of the country.

The diffusion of knowledge is an essential triggering factor in the phase of economic growth through externalities mostly based on R&D and innovations embodied in technological products or services. As a form of transmission, knowledge spillovers arising from an external source can emerge through various channels. This study investigates the effect of knowledge spillovers via high-tech imports and international R&D cooperation on longrun economic growth, in a panel of selected emerging and developing economies for the 1995-2019 period. Based on the results of second-generation econometric methods that take into account cross-section dependence and parameter heterogeneity, it is concluded that knowledge spillovers via high-tech imports are a prominent determinant of economic growth. The results also confirm the growth-enhancing effect of domestic knowledge stock as a measure of knowledge absorption capacity. However, it is deduced that knowledge spillovers via R&D cooperation have a weak and somewhat insignificant positive impact on economic growth, when ignoring the complementary relationship between incoming knowledge and the absorptive capacity of countries. Accordingly, the results indicate the essential role of increasing absorptive capacity in gains from R&D spillovers. Lastly, human capital seems to be decisive in the growth process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has utilised the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) estimator method to explore the spillover effects of "technology" and "knowledge" from foreign direct investment (FDI) on Malaysian labour productivity. The study focus was on Malaysian mediumlow technology and low-technology industries from 2000 to 2018. The findings showed that the presence of FDI spillovers as diffusion channels that increased labour productivity were greater through "technology effects" compared to "learning effects" for both types of industries. A cross-comparison of the results on technological spillovers between investor countries revealed that Singaporean and Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) contributed the most significant technological effects in increasing Malaysian labour productivity, with the effects being most noticeable was in low-technology industries. These findings seem to suggest that the spillover effects of FDI are still concentrated in sectors with low-capacity technologies that commensurate with the required level of workforce capability. The negative relationship between "knowledge" spillovers and productivity found in this study seems to illustrate that the absorptive capacity of local workers to absorb high-skill-based technology from MNCs is still at a low level in both types of industries. This study has recommended that strategies and mechanisms should be devised accordingly to assist MNCs in their effort to improve knowledge and technology transfers, while simultaneously acknowledging the constraints of human factors, absorptive capacity, competition for resources or ethical dilemmas and cultural barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to capture 'buzz', the vibrancy and knowledge exchange propensity of localised informal communication flows. Building on a conceptual framework based on relational economic geography, we argue the content of buzz may allow to probe into the character of places and investigate what is 'in the air' within regional entrepreneurial milieux. In particular, we analyse big data to listen for the presence of buzz about innovation – defined by discursive practices that reflect an innovative atmosphere – and explore how this may influence regional firm creation. Using information from 180 million geolocated Tweets comprising almost two billion words across NUTS3 regions in the UK for the year 2014, our results offer novel evidence, robust to different model specifications, that regions characterised by a relatively higher intensity of discussion and vibrancy around topics related to innovation may provide a more effective set of informal resources for sharing and recombination of ideas, defining regional capabilities to support and facilitate entrepreneurial processes. The findings contribute to the literature on the intangible dimensions in the geography of innovation and offer new insights on the potential of natural language processing for economic geography research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of the relationship between knowledge spillovers and new firm formation in 980 NUTS-3 regions at the industry level shows that regional knowledge stocks represented by patents positively influence new firm formation, but that knowledge protection and appropriation strategies of incumbents discourage it. Knowledge stocks represented by trademarks translate into higher entry rates in the absence of a pronounced appropriation strategy of incumbents or when entrants do not directly compete with the trademarking incumbents. Our findings highlight the two-sided effects of trademarks: as an indicator of product novelties as well as a potential expression of strengthened incumbent appropriation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite accumulated findings on the effects of agglomeration on productivity of manufacturing industries in Korea, little is known about the determinants of agglomeration. Employing an approach similar to Rosenthal and Strange (2001) [Rosenthal, S and W Strange (2001). The determinants of agglomeration. Journal of Urban Economics, 50(2), 191–229.], but using a different agglomeration index, this study examines whether the three microfoundations of agglomeration economies are important to the geographical concentration of Korean manufacturing industries. While estimation results generally confirm that labor market pooling, input sharing and knowledge spillovers contribute to agglomeration, we found some differences with the previous literature. First, non-manufactured inputs are more influential on agglomeration than manufactured inputs. Secondly, aggregate innovation activities, rather than their share of shipments, are a better measure of knowledge spillovers to explain agglomeration. Thirdly, agglomeration of newly established firms is also influenced by the Marshallian externalities with labor market pooling having a stronger and consistent effect. These results are robust to instrumental variables estimation to control for endogeneity related to knowledge spillovers and labor market pooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the role of regional characteristics, particularly regional knowledge spillovers, as drivers of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in 190 European regions. A new modelling approach for knowledge spillovers that is different from the commonly used neighbourhood matrices is proposed. Therefore, by estimating the impact of drivers on TFP growth, findings reveal a strong direct effect of TFP spillovers alongside factors such as research and development (R&D) spending, cultural values or perceived quality of governance. However, the results also show that the openness of regional society to progress is a prerequisite for the effective use of existing knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing importance of implementing digital technologies in business contexts, empirical research relating to digital capabilities, innovation, and business performance still remains scarce, particularly relevant in these times of disruption. This study proposes a mediated-moderated framework to describe, according to the level of economic development of the country of firm location, the direct and indirect effects (mediated by digital capabilities and innovation) of knowledge spillovers on firm performance. We carried out a quantitative study deploying the longitudinal World Bank Enterprise Surveys for 2019, 2020 and 2021 in a dataset that included 27,727 firms from 41 countries and territories. We applied the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) methodological approach to test the mediated-moderated model that explains business performance. The results identify how knowledge spillovers positively influence firm performance through digital capabilities and innovation. Furthermore, we empirically demonstrate that the national level of economic development moderates the direct and indirect impacts of knowledge spillovers on firm performance. • Our study advances on knowledge spillover theory. • We present a mediated-moderated framework to assist the effects of knowledge spillovers on firm performance. • This study examines how digital capabilities impact the relationship between knowledge spillovers and company performance. • Our research shows how knowledge spillovers drive innovation and improve firms' performance, leading to value creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of the concentration of human capital on wages and productivity have been widely studied, but despite their heterogeneity, little attention has been paid to its effects on the wage gap. This paper assesses the impacts of human capital externalities on wages and on the US wage gap. The main results suggest a positive association between the share of high-educated workers and the wage gap between high- and low-educated workers. Moreover, the effect associated with the concentration of high-educated workers is entirely captured by changes in their wages, as wages of low- and medium-educated workers are statistically unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of the regional context with regard to the influence of human capital and knowledge spillovers on SMEs' financial soundness. Our empirical setting is based on a multilevel analysis of panel data, which allows superior treatment of hierarchical data. The analysis is applied to SMEs belonging to the manufacturing sector and operating in four European countries over the period 2010–2015. We find that a combination of individual and regional‐level characteristics explains firm soundness better than individual features alone. Furthermore, we find that a high local educational level and knowledge spillovers improve firm soundness and that their effects vary according to the regional level of knowledge. These results are confirmed by several robustness tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many economic applications of matching, the teams that form compete later in market structures with strategic interactions or with knowledge spillovers. Such post-match competition introduces externalities at the matching stage: a team's payoff depends not only on their members' attributes but also on those of other matched teams. This article develops a large market model of matching with externalities, in which first teams form, and then they compete. We analyse the sorting patterns that ensue under competitive equilibrium as well as their efficiency properties. Our main results show that insights substantially differ from those of the standard model without externalities: there can be multiple competitive equilibria with different sorting patterns; both optimal and competitive equilibrium matching can involve randomization; and competitive equilibrium can be inefficient with a matching that can drastically deviate from the optimal one. We also shed light on the economic relevance of our matching model with externalities. We analyse two economic applications that illustrate how our model can rationalize the trend in within- and between-firm inequality, and also the evolution of markups of sectors where firms have market power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic History Research / Investigaciones de Historia Económica is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research examines the effect of knowledge spillovers on new firm formation across Greek regions in manufacturing over the period 2002–2010. The econometric analysis results reveal that knowledge spillovers, as proxied by innovation and high-tech labor measures, positively affect regional new firm formation rates. Intra-sectoral spillovers, as captured by geographic sectoral specialization and industrial intensity, also positively affect regional new firm formation. In contrast, inter-sectoral spillovers, as proxied by regional industrial diversity, reduce new firm formation across regions. The examination of other control variables suggests that GDP growth and small firms stimulate regional new firm formation, whereas sunk costs and unemployment have a discouraging effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evolutionary economic geography studies have stressed technological relatedness as a key explanatory factor for regional industrial diversification. It is further argued that firms that manufacture products with dense connections to regional industrial structure benefit the most from local knowledge spillovers and thus should grow faster. Based on a firm-level dataset on China's manufacturing industry over the 1998-2008 period, our results indicate that the density of links between a firm's products and local industrial structure does yield firm performance enhancing spillovers. We further decompose the overall density indicator and point out the lack of connections between firms of different ownership types in terms of information exchange and technological diffusion. Finally, empirical results confirm that regional institutions play a critical role in the spillover diffusion between firms of different ownership structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge externalities affect high and low growth firms differently. This paper develops two theoretical arguments. The knowledge equilibrium argument postulates that knowledge externalities weaken high growth firms for the benefit of low growth firms until performance differences vanish. The knowledge competition argument proposes that high growth firms are better positioned to identify, attract, and integrate knowledge, thereby expanding the performance gap between high and low growth firms. Based on 188,936 observations of 32,736 Swedish firms from 2004 to 2011, it is analysed whether knowledge externalities enable high growth firms to surge ahead or low growth firms to catch up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the factors driving nanotechnology development in Chinese regions. Advanced regions of China have spearheaded the country's rapid growth in nanotechnology, aided by substantial support from the government. While this head start could potentially perpetuate regional inequalities through agglomeration economies, the results suggest that knowledge spillovers exert a substantially greater impact in peripheral regions compared with the advanced ones, and may thus be compensating for the limited institutional support they receive and their weak technological capabilities. This research contributes to the regional innovation literature by highlighting that a formal scientific network can counteract the forces of agglomeration economies and spur innovation in peripheral regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When potential beneficiaries share their knowledge and attitudes about a policy intervention, their decision to participate and the effectiveness of both the policy and its evaluation may be influenced. This matters most notably in integrated social policies with several components. We examine spillover effects on take-up behaviors in the context of a conditional cash transfer program in rural Mexico. We exploit exogenous variations in the local frequency of beneficiaries generated by the program's randomized evaluation. A higher treatment density in the areas surrounding the evaluation villages increases the take-up of scholarships and enrollment at the lower-secondary level. These cross-village spillovers operate exclusively within households receiving another component of the program, and do not carry over larger distances. While several tests reject heterogeneities in impact due to spatial variations in program implementation, we find evidence to suggest that spillovers stem partly from the sharing of information about the program among eligible households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University Spin-Offs (USOs) are actively involved in the knowledge spillover process and fully integrated in the regional innovation systems. Drawing on the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship and using a multilevel approach of analysis, we explore whether the region's knowledge spillover and the firm's absorptive capacity jointly determine the innovative performance of USOs. At regional level, technological spillovers, production spillovers, and human capital spillovers have been considered. The results from a cross-national panel sample of 401 and 711 Spanish and Italian USOs, over the period 2005–13 and located in twenty-two administrative regions, show that only the production spillovers have a significant positive effect on the USO's innovative activity. Firm-specific characteristics are important for explaining USOs' innovation. More specifically, firm age has a negative effect, while firm size seems to have a positive effect. Additionally, USOs active in high-tech sectors seem to perform better in their innovation activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s certain retail companies have evolved into some of the largest and most dispersed transnational corporations worldwide. However, within the 'new era of retail distribution' retailers are increasingly divesting from foreign markets. This study addresses these recent and under-explored dynamics by revealing the traces transnational retail corporations leave after divesting from a country. It explores the aspect of learning of host market retailers from entering transnational corporations (TNCs) and examines how foreign knowledge is adjusted in the business strategies of these local actors. It takes a fresh empirical slant using qualitative interviews with host market retail managers including former TNCs' subsidiaries operating under domestic ownership. The emerging economy of Turkey serves as an empirical example. The paper finds that foreign retailers transfer firm-specific resources to the local retail through (1) demonstration and imitation, (2) vertical linkages with suppliers, (3) joint ventures and acquisitions, and (4) labor turnover of TNC trained staff. Certain successful local companies adjust the foreign knowledge based on their local knowledge and strengths, their high level of flexibility and deep territorial embeddedness, and create 'hybrid' business strategies. These findings suggest that dynamic capabilities are crucial to successful retailing in an international competitive environment. TNC managers should work with local staff in partnerships of equals and managers of locally operating companies should incorporate new knowledge by hiring TNC trained staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The commons problem is even more severe than standard economic analysis suggests due to accumulated and new technology accompanied by spillovers of nonrival knowledge, creating a second market failure. The resulting endogenous dynamic increasing returns to scale external to producers that create endogenous growth of production lead to ongoing and accelerating rates of natural capital depletion. Optimum and open-access steady-state equilibriums indicated by canonical models may not exist, and corresponding resource stocks vary considerably from conventional wisdom. Market-based solutions alone for the commons problem are insufficient to achieve optimal economic welfare, and require a complementary technology policy for the second market failure and dynamic increasing returns to scale arising from nonrival ideas and knowledge spillovers and social learning. An empirical example illustrates the impact of technological change and accompanying knowledge spillovers and social learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to existing literature on the relationship between productivity and innovation through the knowledge spillover effects. To this end, we consider both a theoretical model and an empirical analysis in Russia. The investigation is based upon a dataset composed of 85 Russian regions for the period 2010-2014. In particular, the effect of R&D Spillovers are analysed through the use of spatial econometric techniques. In so doing, we have allowed the productivity of each region to be affected by the productivity of nearby regions. Results show that R&D significantly affects Russian regions productivity and that productivity spillover across regions matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Empirical results on the link between growth and diversity in (un)related industries proved to be highly dependent on the specific regional, temporal and econometric context. Using highly disaggregated employment data at the sub‐regional level, we find that higher employment growth in Austria is mainly linked to unrelated variety. However, in‐depth analyses by sectors and regional regimes illustrate substantial heterogeneity in the results, with services and a large number of relatively small non‐urban regions driving the overall results. Thus, our findings argue against structural policy conclusions based on assessments neglecting the specific sectoral and regional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new measure for assessing the network proximity between aggregated units, based on disaggregated information on the network distance of actors. Specific focus is on R&D network structures between regions. We introduce a weighted version of the proximity measure, related to the idea that direct and indirect linkages carry different types of knowledge. First-order proximity arising from direct cross-regional linkages is distinguished from higher-order network proximity, resulting from indirect linkages in the R&D network. We use an macroeconomic application in which we analyse the productivity effects of R&D network spillovers across regions to illustrate the usefulness of a proximity measure for aggregated units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Empirical analyses of knowledge spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) offer mixed results; they find positive, neutral and negative FDI spillover effects. This lack of evidence mainly comes from the results of firm‐level panel data analysis. This is important since this approach seems to be the most appropriate for estimating FDI spillovers. The paper takes a look at recent substantive and methodological developments in FDI spillover analysis, which have brought some more optimistic results with regard to FDI spillovers, and can help in further development in this field. The main substantive development relates to the introduction of a broad variety of sources of firm heterogeneity (foreign affiliates as well as local firms) in the analysis. Others include differentiation between vertical (inter‐industry) and horizontal (intra‐industry) spillovers, and host country absorptive capacity for knowledge spillovers. Methodological developments relate to distinguishing between technological/knowledge and productivity spillovers, improvement of modelling and estimation methods, and an increased amount and quality of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses the role of the employers' education on the spread of temporary contracts. Taking advantage of a unique firm‐level dataset, we test whether the share of fixed term workforce in a firm is affected by the employer's level of education. Furthermore, we test whether knowledge spillovers arising from the agglomeration of university graduate employers affect the incidence of temporary employment in the firms located in the area. In both cases we find a negative effect. Interestingly, only small firms are influenced by the spillovers. The possible problems of endogeneity of the agglomeration variable are coped with an IV approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing evidence on the impact of foreign direct investment on domestic economies remains ambiguous. Positive technology spillovers of foreign investment may be outweighed by negative crowding out effect due to increased competition. In this paper, we employ a unique country/sector-level data set to investigate the impact of what is considered the ‘best’ type of foreign investment—greenfield knowledge intensive FDI—on domestic entry. Our results suggest that, in the short run, this type of FDI is positively related to the entry rate in the host country, if the domestic sector is either dynamic, or highly R&D intensive. These sectors may be respectively characterized by lower entry costs, which encourage a ‘trial-and-error’ learning business approach, and by a higher level of absorptive capacity which increases the chance of technology transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spillover of knowledge is considered to be an important cause of agglomeration of inventive activity. Many studies argue that knowledge spillovers are localized based on the observation that patents tend to cite nearby patents disproportionately. Specifically, patent citations are typically interpreted as marking the transmission of knowledge from the cited invention to the citing invention. The localization of patent citations is therefore taken as evidence that such knowledge transmission is also localized. Localization of knowledge transmission, however, may not be the only reason that patent citations are localized. Using a set of citations that are unlikely to be associated with knowledge transmission from the cited to the citing invention, we present evidence that challenges the view that localization of citations is driven by localized knowledge transmission. While we are silent on the question of whether knowledge transmission is localized, to the extent that such localization exists, we argue that it is unlikely to be captured by patent citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the full range of effects of knowledge properties and explains how knowledge properties such as transient appropriability, non-exhaustibility, and indivisibility do not only have negative effects, but also positive ones. Knowledge externalities help reduce the cost of knowledge and imitation externalities reduce the revenue and profitability of innovations. Their effects need to be considered jointly in a single analytical framework. An analysis of their combined effects questions the scope of application of the 'Arrovian postulate' according to which the limited appropriability of knowledge due to its uncontrolled dissemination reduces invention. This ignores spillovers of outside knowledge, which increases invention. These are the two opposing faces of the limited appropriability of knowledge. Policy implications suggest that along with public interventions designed to support the supply of knowledge and to compensate for missing incentives, much attention should be paid to all interventions that favour the dissemination of knowledge and the knowledge connectivity of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the presence of international knowledge spillovers in the wind power sector. Specifically, the paper investigates whether successful invention efforts in one country, measured by way of granted wind power patent counts, have had positive effects on the neighboring countries’ abilities to generate patents of the same category. Data on the number of patents granted at the European Patent Office during the period 1978–2008 are used for the eight national technological leaders in the western European wind power sector. The few comprehensive wind power studies that exist have only found limited evidence of international knowledge spillovers. However, in this paper, we find that international spillovers are statistically significant determinants of a country’s wind power patenting outcomes. Geographical distance is also taken into consideration, and the knowledge spillover effects are shown to become stronger with decreases in this distance. The results should have important policy implications, for example, for a national government when it comes to applying an investment strategy in wind power or, alternatively, free-riding on other countries’ invention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Low agricultural productivity remains the primary source of poverty in the developing regions and yet little is known about the influence on agricultural productivity of domestic and international accumulated R&D knowledge and the channels through which this knowledge is transmitted internationally. Following a large scientific literature, this article argues that R&D and R&D knowledge spillover are ecozone‐specific and, therefore, are transmitted internationally through ecozones, where ecozones are the broadest biogeographic division of the earth's land surface. Using data for a panel of 88 countries, it is shown that international knowledge spillovers are ecozone‐specific and have been an important contributing factor behind the marked widening of the income gap between developed and developing countries since 1983. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the effects of intra- and inter-regional knowledge spillovers on innovative activities in German states using the augmented Griliches-Jaffe knowledge production function. The "Harris market potential" type index is calculated to proxy for inter-regional knowledge transfers of two types: industrial knowledge transfers generated from the business enterprise sector and academic spillovers generated from universities across all German states. The model also includes the concentration of high-tech enterprises, in order to capture the agglomeration effect in the local economy. The estimation results reveal that not only do local private and university research efforts have a positive and significant effect on local innovative activities, but there are also important interregional knowledge spillovers across the German regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The development of new industries demands access to local capabilities. Little attention has yet been paid to the role of spillovers from neighbour regions for industrial diversification, nor has the role of network linkages between neighbour regions been investigated. As the spread of capabilities has a strong geographical bias, we expect regions to develop new industries in which their neighbour regions are specialized. To test this hypothesis, we analyse the development of new industries in US states during the period 2000-2012. We show that a US state has a higher probability of developing a comparative advantage in a new industry if a neighbour state is specialized in that industry. We also show that neighbour US states have more similar export structures. This export similarity seems to be explained by higher social connectivity between neighbour states, as embodied in their bilateral migration patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor mobility is heralded as a key channel of knowledge spillovers between firms. However, the empirical evidence on labor mobility's effects on firm performance leaves many unanswered questions. In this paper, we analyze the effect of inventor mobility on firm-level patenting activity by studying a sample of European R&D investing firms. Especially, the characteristics of mobile inventors and their previous employers are analyzed to discover the prerequisites of successful knowledge transfer. The empirical results suggest that mobile patent inventors transfer knowledge and affect the hiring firm's future innovation performance. Inventor mobility in general does not significantly increase patenting; however, hiring inventors with several prior patents and different kinds of technological expertise contributes to firms' future patenting. Furthermore, hiring inventors from actively patenting firms contributes to future patenting. We also find that outbound mobility of inventors weakens the source firm's patenting performance, especially when the firm loses inventors who have been highly productive, have worked in the firm's core field of technology or move to technologically similar firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the role of dynamic externalities, university-industry linkages and role of social networking in the biotechnology industry in the European Union (EU). Universities act as platforms for local knowledge spillovers and university-industry cluster development in the biotechnology field. The R&D activities at universities contribute to successful business innovations. However, the relationship between the universities and the local innovation capabilities is much more complex and therefore requires more in-depth analysis. The following study derives from the knowledge of the new economic geography, endogenous growth theory, biotechnology, as well as theories of social capital and social networks. The quantitative research elaborates contemporary literature and databases to find channels of interdependence between local university-based knowledge flows, social capital, and biotechnology cluster performance. The results of the study show that the biotechnology industry relies very much on university-business R&D partnerships and research mobility (e.g. pharmaceutical firms that performed basic research in close cooperation with academia produced more patents). In addition, social networking and informal contacts seem to be a more important for the diffusion of knowledge, especially at the beginning of R&D process, as they allow for building credibility between potential partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between the entry of universities into a new technology field and the innovative activities of firms located in the same geographical area. We aim to assess the presence of a significant correlation between academic research and technological specialization. The empirical setting is based on a dataset of 846,440 patent families, the output of 256 European regions and 428 local universities. The results of the fixed-effect models indicate a robust and positive relationship between the technological entry of academic institutions and the specialization of the region in the same domain. Furthermore, the technological distance between the portfolio of inventions filed by universities and that of co-localized firms is negatively correlated with the subsequent specialization of the hosting region, and this relationship is amplified by the entry of local academies. Several robustness checks have been performed. In particular, the results are tested on sub-samples that distinguish technology fields with lower and higher complexity and geographical regions with lower and higher innovative performance. The technological entry of universities has an additional positive effect for the strong and leading innovators whereas no significant premium or penalty was found for high and low-tech areas. This suggests that the entry of academic institutions into new technology fields occurring in a highly developed innovation ecosystem is more conducive to subsequent industrial specialization thanks to existing collaborations and transmission channels. • There is a positive correlation between regional specialization in a technology domain and the entry of local universities • Lower coherence between the technology portfolios of local firms and universities negatively affects regional specialization • The negative association between technological distance and regional specialization is amplified by the entry of universities • The entry of universities does not lead to significant differences in regional specialization between high and low-tech areas • The technological entry of universities favors regional specialization when it occurs in more developed innovation ecosystems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge flows are widely believed to be a phenomenon of clusters, and inducing them is one of the chief objectives in establishing and promoting cluster initiatives (CI). However, not many studies discuss how these flows and their effects may differ depending on the mode of CI creation and on the role of public authorities in this process. The main aim of this article is to compare mechanisms of knowledge flows in bottom-up and top-down cluster initiatives. The results of an empirical research involving two case studies in western Poland, obtained through the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA), allowed stating that in bottom-up cluster initiatives firms which were innovation leaders played a prime role in disseminating technological and business knowledge, while in the top-down initiatives the most important were representatives of universities and research centres as well as formal coordinators of cooperation. Policy implications stemming from these results were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines whether there are productivity gains due to technology being transmitted across industries through the movement of skilled workers embodying human capital. The empirical analysis is based on household survey and industry-level data for a sample of 12 European Union countries covering the years 1995-2005. The estimates provide evidence of positive cross-sectoral knowledge spillovers and indicate that labour mobility has considerable beneficial effects on industry productivity. The paper further shows that the spillover effects vary considerably by technology level of the giving industry. While workers moving from high-tech and medium-tech industries are found to produce positive productivity effects for the receiving industry, no significant or even negative effects are found for those coming from low-tech industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of academic and private R&D spending in the frame of a knowledge production function estimated across 3,109 US counties. We distinguish the role of local, face-to-face, knowledge spillovers that are determined by geographical proximity from distant spillovers captured by a matrix of patent creation-citation flows. The advantage of the latter matrix is its capacity to capture the direction of the spillovers. We control for the spatial heterogeneity between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties as well as between states. Our empirical results show that spillovers due to private knowledge contribute to higher returns in metropolitan counties than in nonmetropolitan regions. On the other hand, knowledge created in the academia leads to spillovers displaying spatially homogeneous returns. Our results imply that future innovation policies need to grasp more fully the role of distant knowledge spillovers, especially those generated in the academia, and recognize better the presence of heterogeneity in the sources and location of knowledge creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper extends the findings of the Coe and Helpman (Eur Econ Rev 39(5):859-887, 1995) model of R&D spillovers by considering foreign direct investment (FDI) as a channel for knowledge spillovers in addition to imports. Deeper insights on the issue are provided by examining the inter-relationship between knowledge spillovers from imports and inward FDI. Furthermore, human capital is added to the discussion as one of the appropriability factors for knowledge spillovers, with special focus on its quality-content, using journal publications and patent applications. Applying cointegration estimation method on 20 European countries from 1995 to 2010, the direct effects of FDI-related as well as import-related spillovers on domestic productivity are confirmed. Furthermore, a strong complementary relationship is found between knowledge spillovers through the channels of imports and inward FDI. When considering quality-adjusted human capital, countries with better human capital are found to benefit not only from direct productivity effects, but also from absorption and transmission of international knowledge spillovers through imports and inward FDI. Finally, technological distance with the frontier does not appear to play a role in the absorption of import and FDI related knowledge spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research summary: Building on economic geography and institutional theory, we develop and test theory relating geographic variables to the strength of corporate social responsibility ( CSR) engagement and the cost of equity capital. For a large sample of U.S. firms over the period 1998-2009, we find strong and robust evidence that firms located in areas characterized by high levels of local CSR density score higher in CSR engagement. In addition, firms located close to major cities and financial centers exhibit higher CSR engagement compared to firms located in more remote areas. Moreover, the effect of CSR engagement on reducing equity financing costs is even greater for firms in high CSR density areas than for firms in low CSR density areas. Managerial summary: Does the location of CSR engagement by firms affect the strength of CSR engagement by their neighbors? Does the geography of engagement have an impact on financial performance? Our findings show that a firm's CSR engagement increases in areas where there is dense CSR engagement and when it is located near large cities. In these areas, norms, values, and knowledge related to CSR are transmitted to firms through face-to-face meetings and frequent social interactions with groups such as peers, labor unions, news media, universities, and community organizations, which tend to be concentrated in large cities. Our findings further highlight that CSR engagement reduces equity financing costs for firms in areas where CSR is widely practiced. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investing in international joint ventures (IJVs) is an important way for Chinese investors to establish partnerships with foreign investors. However, the environmental spillovers in this process have yet to be evaluated in the existing literature. Employing firm-level data with nearly 410,000 observations of Chinese industrial firms from 1999 to 2009, this paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment to analyze the effects of transitioning from being non-IJV partners to IJV partners on firm-level pollution emissions. A difference-in-differences model is used to alleviate potential endogeneity problems. Our results indicate that becoming an IJV partner reduces a firm's pollution emissions. The mechanism analysis suggests that knowledge spillovers, the increase in clean fuel usage, and the decline in pollution emission intensity could lead to a pollution reduction effect, while the expansion of industrial output could also increase pollution emissions. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the absorptive capacity of technology, ownership, the level of industrial pollution, and regional resource density influence the effect of environmental spillovers in IJVs. • Microdata of Chinese industrial enterprises are used. • A difference in differences model is used. • Becoming international joint ventures (IJVs) partners reduces pollution emissions. • Knowledge, energy structure, output and pollution emissions intensity are mechanism variables. • Enterprise heterogeneity affects the effect of becoming IJVs partners on pollution emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that R&D investment improves technological progress. The R&D capital that boosts a firm's production efficiency has various sources. This paper uses "effective" R&D capital, which represents not only a firm's internal R&D input but also the benefit derived from R&D collaboration and accessible knowledge capital, to empirically examine its effects on a firm's productivity. Accounting for technological distance and the endogeneity problem of weights matrices, we use spatial panel data models to estimate the return of R&D capital within the framework of the production function. We estimate the production function using the firm-year data of Shanghai technological enterprises from 2009 to 2017. The results show positive, significant relationships between each element of "effective" R&D capital and total-factor productivity (TFP). Knowledge spillovers have greater impacts on a firm's TFP than its internal R&D input and R&D collaboration. The contribution of R&D collaboration to TFP is less than that of internal R&D, indicating that R&D collaboration is not fully internalized. The results imply that a better environment for R&D collaboration and technology exchange is needed. • We assess the contribution to the productivity of each element of "effective" R&D capital. • Results show positive and significant relationships between "effective" R&D capital stocks and total-factor productivity. • We employ spatial panel data models and allow time-varying endogenous weights matrices for estimation. • It is important to develop a better environment for R&D collaboration and technology exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usually, knowledge spillovers (KS) are related to geographic proximity. In the present study, we measure KS on the basis of different proximity matrices, focusing on the relational, social, cognitive and technological preconditions for knowledge diffusion. In the light of previous studies on KS, we examine: (i) which types of proximity enhance or hamper knowledge flows, and (ii) whether local absorptive capacity favour such flows. Our results indicate that KS across European NUTS2 regions measured through geographic, relational, social, cognitive and technological proximity channels increase with local absorptive capacity. This finding points towards the emergence of large clusters of regions (absorptive capacity clubs) where relational, cognitive, social and technological proximity lock-in maximizes the returns to local investment in R&D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the dynamics of R&D investment when firms agglomerate in environments with weak intellectual property rights protection? Specifically, do foreign and domestic firms present equal opportunities for free riding by domestic firms in such environments? We examine the impact on local firms' R&D investment from knowledge spillovers originating from co-located foreign and domestic firms within and across industries. Building on fieldwork in India, we predict free riding by local firms on nearby foreign and local firms. Furthermore, we expect local firms to free ride more from other local firms within their industry and from foreign firms across industries. Analyzing a sample of 3,475 R&D lab investment decisions during 2003-2010 in India, we find that local firms free ride from other local firms both within and across industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and development (R&D) activities are of great significance in the long term development of firms and R&D expenditures have been studied by economists including Romer. This paper sets out to investigate the effects of R&D spillovers at provincial level with specific reference to Turkey. To serve this purpose, data published by Turkish Statistical Institute have been employed. The paper covers the period from 2003 to 2007. The number of data points is 342 subsequent to the aggregation of data at the firm level. Of the data aggregated, it has been found out that 162 of them are zero. While running the spatial econometric estimations, inverse distance and neighboring matrices were employed as the weighting matrix. The determinants of R&D activities employed in the study are size, represented by the number of employees; qualified labor, represented by the number of R&D employees; technology transfer represented by expenses for licensing; foreign ownership, Pavitt sector dummies, location dummies by the sea, border or airport. The results of the analyses suggest that when both weighting matrices are used, spatial lag and error yielded significant results. There is R&D knowledge spillovers at provincial level in Turkey, shown by the spatial spillover effects in nearly one third of the total effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]