Growth and Change最新文献

The main purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of innovation in the U.S. and Turkey. Although there is an extensive literature on traditional determinants of innovation, they only explain a limited part of the innovation process and are insufficient to describe the complex nature of the innovation ecosystem. Moreover, in this ecosystem, seeing innovation as a part of creativity and learning processes requires a broader framework for understanding it. This study argues that a multidimensional approach, including the dimensions of creativity, is needed to understand innovation across regions. Thus, factor analysis is used to explore innovation dimensions. Seventeen variables including industrial specialization, population, human capital, entrepreneurship, income, social and cultural activities, enplanement, international migration, and crime rates are reduced to five factors in the cases of the U.S. and Turkey. As a result, the five factors reflecting the similarities between the U.S. and Turkey offer a new perspective, providing a multidimensional approach to regional innovation. In addition, the results of the study reveal that regions in each country innovate in different ways and each region requires a different mix of innovation dimensions and also policy measures.

Turkish economy has undergone massive transformation during the 2000s. Annual economic growth reached a peak of 10% in the early 2000s. However, the side effects of global financial crises and the internal macroeconomic imbalances shift the growth trajectory of Türkiye into a new path of unstable economic growth. While macroeconomic consequences are densely discussed we know less about the adjustment of local labour markets. To fill this gap, we examine the club formation of Turkish regions by analysing their unemployment trajectories during the post 2000s. Our findings show that despite rapid economic growth Turkish regions get extremely polarised and form distinct convergence clubs. Remarkably polarisation is higher for the female population. Geographically, polarisation is in the form of an isolation for the least developed south-eastern regions and some of the developed urbanised western regions. Additionally, our robustness exercises indicate higher polarisation after 2013 as Turkish economic growth starts to become more volatile and less sustainable. Finally, our spatial extensions show that impact of spatial proximity has significant influence on the accurate extent of unemployment deprivation.

Scholarly interest in innovation in the periphery has recently grown, along with the prevalence of studies investigating different forms of innovation. Given the relative paucity of research in these fields, this study aims to examine the probability of technological and non-technological innovation in peripheral areas, compared to core regions. Drawing on a sample of over 3800 Israeli firms, we analyzed how their peripheral geographic location impacts their chances to innovate, in comparison to firms in Israel's core regions. The results showed that the probabilities to technologically innovate in most of the defined peripheries significantly exceed the probabilities in the core. Those probabilities decrease with the region's increasing peripherality. Peripheral firms that do tend to technologically innovate were found to be deeply embedded in their region's economy. Unlike technological innovation, peripheries' non-technological innovation activity was found to benefit from urban agglomerations that endow local economies with an (technological) innovative buzz. The results have policy implications for the promotion of regional economic growth.

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of how regional changes in the age and education distribution of the labour force affect local and neighbourhood unemployment rates. Based on theoretical considerations, we argue that differences in job search, separation, and commuting are key factors in group differences, and therefore, changes in relative group size affect the level of unemployment. The empirical analysis focuses on local labour markets in Germany, using a dynamic spatial panel data model. According to the estimates, an increasing proportion of young and/or low-educated workers raises local unemployment, while larger proportions of older prime-age and/or highly educated workers raise unemployment in neighbouring labour markets. As a result, the recent ageing and education developments in the German labour force have led to a 25% reduction in the unemployment rate.

Cognitive proximity between firms, and their position in relation to other firms in a knowledge space, can influence firms' innovation performance. While some studies have begun analysing this in developing countries, there is a dearth of evidence in Africa, and more generally for small and especially micro enterprises as well as for informal enterprises. To fill this gap, we utilise rich new survey data covering 711 micro and small manufacturing firms in Johannesburg, South Africa. We develop and apply a novel multidimensional measure of cognitive proximity, using information on the skills most needed in firms' activities, firms' proximity in an industrial space, and the types of external co-operation in which they engage. We find that cognitive proximity is positively associated with innovation outcomes. Although this relationship is increasing for most of the sample, there is evidence of an inverted-U relationship for firms located at higher percentiles, suggesting that too much proximity may lead to a cognitive lock-in. Firms' knowledge space position is also associated with differential innovation outcomes. In extensions of the model, we find interesting differences in how both cognitive proximity and knowledge space positions are associated with the degree of innovation novelty and also vary according to whether the firm is formal or informal.

Rural entrepreneurs face significant obstacles due to factors such as sparse population, low density, aging population, remoteness from markets and financial providers, inadequate infrastructure, and challenging geographic conditions. These factors contribute to rural disadvantage, fueling rural depopulation. Governments often attempt to address rural depopulation by supporting entrepreneurship, but eligibility criteria vary widely. This paper develops a model of rural entrepreneurship liability explained by municipal demographic and geographic factors. We analyzed the geographical distribution of all companies established in Spain since 2012, along with the attributes of the municipalities where they are headquartered. While working-age municipal population is the primary factor in determining rural entrepreneurship liability, network coverage, altitude, and population variation also play noteworthy roles. Geographic constraints have a significant negative impact on entrepreneurship, but their influence is mitigated by the working-age municipal population, highlighting the unique challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs. One policy implication of our findings is that governments could consider using this model to allocate grants based on the actual difficulty of undertaking entrepreneurship in each municipality.

In Table 1 on page 7 of our paper, a typographical error led to the incorrect placement of a “B” next to Valle de Egüés. This municipality is not part of the Barcelona commuting zone, but forms part of the Pamplona commuting zone. We have corrected this, and a “P” is now listed instead of the “B.” We sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused. It is important to note that the database used in our analysis is not affected, as Valle de Egüés is correctly geolocated. Consequently, this oversight does not impact our empirical analysis, and the conclusions of the paper remain unchanged. The corrected table is provided below: