Doctoral Dissertation Research: When Technology Spillovers are Localized: Importance of Technological and Regional Attributes

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

Research and development activities, innovations, subsequent technological changes, and spillovers are important factors that influence economic development. New growth theory emphasizes the role of technology spillovers and subsequent scale effects, which lead to increasing returns to scale and long-term growth. Research and development may not be a sufficient condition for regional growth, however. Although research and development has been considered the most important factor contributing to technological progress and hence productivity increase through spillover effects, when it comes to regional economies, research and development itself does not automatically guarantee technology spillovers within regions, which would eventually drive regional economic growth. For example, a new innovation introduced in California can be picked up and implemented in North Carolina, and vice versa. What may be more important to regional economies is the degree to which externalities created by innovative activities are localized within geographical boundaries. Strong evidence has been presented in the scholarly literature that research and development activities and consequent new innovations are the source of productivity growth. Evidence also has mounted that technology spillovers, which lie at the center of this mechanism, often are localized. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine technological and regional attributes that influence the geographic localization of technology spillovers. The study mainly focuses on what kinds of technological and regional attributes affect the degree to which technology spillovers are localized and how much. The study will use U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent citation data and county business pattern data and will apply simultaneous equation modeling techniques to explain the relative importance of technological and regional attributes to the localization of technology spillovers. This project will help fill gaps in the literature on spillovers and regional economic development. So far, a major interest of many researchers has been to show that technological innovations often spill over space and that such localized technology spillovers affect the productivity level in a region. Relatively few considerations have been given to the influence of technological and regional attributes on geographical technology spillover patterns. The project also will provide guidance for future science and technology policy development. State and local governments can design policy instruments that specifically aim to promote important regional attributes influencing geographical technology spillover patterns. More efficient allocation of resources may result if it is known how technological attributes influence the localization of spillovers. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.