| Abstract: |
We develop a simple theoretical framework for thinking about how geographic
frictions, and in particular travel costs, shape scientists' collaboration
decisions and the types of projects that are developed locally versus over
distance. We then take advantage of a quasi-experiment - the introduction of
new routes by a low-cost airline - to test the predictions of the theory.
Results show that travel costs constitute an important friction to
collaboration: after a low-cost airline enters, the number of collaborations
increases by 50%, a result that is robust to multiple falsification tests and
causal in nature. The reduction in geographic frictions is particularly
beneficial for high quality scientists that are otherwise embedded in worse
local environments. Consistent with the theory, lower travel costs also
endogenously change the types of projects scientists engage in at different
levels of distance. After the shock, we observe an increase in higher quality
and novel projects, as well as projects that take advantage of complementary
knowledge and skills between sub-fields, and that rely on specialized
equipment. We test the generalizability of our findings from chemistry to a
broader dataset of scientific publications, and to a different field where
specialized equipment is less likely to be relevant, mathematics. Last, we
discuss implications for the formation of collaborative R&D teams over
distance. |