1,674 research outputs found
Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation
The literature on innovation and interactive learning has tended to emphasize the importance of local networks, inter-firm collaboration and knowledge flows as the principal source of technological dynamism. More recently, however, this view has come to be challenged by other perspectives that argue for the importance of non-local knowledge flows. According to this alternative approach, truly dynamic economic regions are characterized both by dense local social interaction and knowledge circulation, as well as strong inter-regional and international connections to outside knowledge sources and partners. This paper offers an empirical examination of these issues by examining the geography of knowledge flows associated with innovation in biotechnology. We begin by reviewing the growing literature on the nature and geography of innovation in biotechnology research and the commercialization process. Then, focusing on the Canadian biotech industry, we examine the determinants of innovation (measured through patenting activity), paying particular attention to internal resources and capabilities of the firm, as well as local and global flows of knowledge and capital. Our study is based on the analysis of Statistics Canadaâs 1999 Survey of Biotechnology Use and Development, which covers 358 core biotechnology firms. Our findings highlight the importance of in-house technological capability and absorptive capacity as determinants of successful innovation in biotechnology firms. Furthermore, our results document the precise ways in which knowledge circulates, in both embodied and disembodied forms, both locally and globally. We also highlight the role of formal intellectual property transactions (domestic and international) in promoting knowledge flows. Although we document the importance of global networks in our findings, our results also reveal the value of local networks and specific forms of embedding. Local relational linkages are especially important when raising capitalâand the expertise that comes with itâto support innovation. Nevertheless, our empirical results raise some troubling questions about the alleged pre-eminence of the local in fostering innovation
Can Europe recover without credit?
Data from 135 countries covering five decades suggests that creditless recoveries, in which
the stock of real credit does not return to the pre-crisis level for three years after the GDP
trough, are not rare and are characterised by remarkable real GDP growth rates: 4.7 percent
per year in middle-income countries and 3.2 percent per year in high-income countries.
However, the implications of these historical episodes for the current European situation are
limited, for two main reasons. First, creditless recoveries are much less common in highincome
countries, than in low-income countries which are financially undeveloped. European
economies heavily depend on bank loans and research suggests that loan supply played a
major role in the recent weak credit performance of Europe. There are reasons to believe that,
despite various efforts, normal lending has not yet been restored. Limited loan supply could
be disruptive for the European economic recovery and there has been only a minor
substitution of bank loans with debt securities. Second, creditless recoveries were associated
with significant real exchange rate depreciation, which has hardly occurred so far in most of
Europe. This stylised fact suggests that it might be difficult to re-establish economic growth
in the absence of sizeable real exchange rate depreciation, if credit growth does not return
Ena/VASP is required for endothelial barrier function in vivo
Enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (Ena/VASP) proteins are key actin regulators that localize at regions of dynamic actin remodeling, including cellular protrusions and cellâcell and cellâmatrix junctions. Several studies have suggested that Ena/VASP proteins are involved in the formation and function of cellular junctions. Here, we establish the importance of Ena/VASP in endothelial junctions in vivo by analysis of Ena/VASP-deficient animals. In the absence of Ena/VASP, the vasculature exhibits patterning defects and lacks structural integrity, leading to edema, hemorrhaging, and late stage embryonic lethality. In endothelial cells, we find that Ena/VASP activity is required for normal F-actin content, actomyosin contractility, and proper response to shear stress. These findings demonstrate that Ena/VASP is critical for actin cytoskeleton remodeling events involved in the maintenance of functional endothelia
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