| Abstract: |
In the framework of analyses on the relationship between geography and
technological innovation, the role of universities has received considerable
attention. Both theoretical and empirical literature has shown that university
research positively influences the capacity for innovation of the surrounding
firms (Jaffe, 1989; Feldman, 1994; Acs et al, 2002). Universities play a
central role in innovation processes both as the main responsible for basic
research and also as forgers of human capital’s skills. Empirical work has
highlighted that such effects radiate from major university centres crossing
borders and administrative boundaries (Anselin et al., 1997). This paper
focuses on the relationship between universities and the innovative capacity
at the territorial level. Specifically, our empirical analysis investigates
whether university research spillovers are highly localised or they rather
flow across borders. Empirical literature has widely investigated intensity
and directions of such spillovers, mainly within the theoretical framework of
Griliches-Jaffe. However, we extend the empirical evidence exploring whether
intensity and directions of spillovers depend on universities’ specificities
(e.g. size, fields of specialization, fund rising capacity) and on the local
absorptive capacity. The analysis is developed at the Italian NUTS3 level,
using an explicit spatial econometric approach applied to a knowledge
production function. References Acs, Z., Anselin, L., and Varga, A. (2002):
“Patents and innovation counts as measures of regional production of new
knowledgeâ€, Research Policy 31, pp. 1069-1085. Anselin, L., Varga, A., and
Acs, Z. (1997): “Local geographic spillovers between University research and
high technology innovationsâ€, Journal of Urban Economics 42, pp. 422-448.
Feldman, M. (1994): The Geography of innovation, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Dordrecht. Jaffe, A. (1989): “Real effects of academic researchâ€, The
American Economic Review, vol 79, n. 5, pp. 957-970. |