THE GEOGRAPHY OF UNCONVENTIONAL INNOVATION

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Berkes, Enrico; Gaetani, Ruben
• 署名单位: University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; University of Toronto; University Toronto Mississauga
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueaa111
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1466-1514
• 关键词: increasing returns; GROWTH; cities; spillovers; diversity; specialization; density; city

摘要

Using a newly assembled data set of US patents, we show that innovation activity is less concentrated in high-density locations than commonly believed. Yet, inventions based on atypical combinations of knowledge are indeed more prevalent in high-density urban centres. To interpret this relation, we propose that informal interactions in densely populated areas help knowledge flows between distant fields, but are less relevant for flows between close fields. We build a model of innovation in a spatial economy that endogenously generates the pattern observed in the data: specialised clusters emerge in low-density areas, whereas high-density locations diversify and produce unconventional ideas.