Geography of Scientific Knowledge: A Proximity Approach

The geography of scientific knowledge is defined as the replication process of locally produced knowledge claims. Proximity in social, cognitive, and physical dimensions promotes the sharing of tacit knowledge. Thus, given the complementarity between tacit and codified knowledge, proximity supports the replication of codified knowledge claims. Distinguishing between controversial and uncontroversial contexts, one can understand the sociology of science as explaining the behaviour of scientists from their proximity to other scientists, and the sociology of scientific knowledge as describing the processes that constitute the proximity between scientists.replication, knowledge claim, proximity, mobility, controversy, incentives, sociology of science, economics of science, geography of science, sociology of scientific knowledge

The geography of collaborative knowledge production: entropy techniques and results for the European Union

Economic development has become understood as being crucially dependent on knowledge production and innovation. Two important features of knowledge production concern its spatial concentration and its embeddedness in collaborative networks. The understanding of economic and scientific development thus requires indicators that capture the spatial and networked nature of knowledge production. This paper aims to contribute by developing and applying an integration measure that indicates the extent to which an organisation is integrated within a network. This measure, being based on the entropy of frequency distributions of collaborative projects, can be applied at any level of aggregation (cf. Frenken 2000). In this study, the focus of analysis is on European integration at the level of cities, countries and the European Union as a whole. The integration measure indicates the degree in which the observed distribution of collaborations differs from the distribution that would have resulted when partner selection would have been random (maximum entropy) indicating perfect integration. Using data taken from the Science Citation Index on inter-institutional collaborations in scientific output of EU countries in the period 1993-2000, European, national and regional patterns in scientific collaboration are analysed. The analysis in divided in three parts. The first part deals with the analysis of national and European collaboration. Results obtained so far (Frenken 2000) show that the European Union has indeed become more integrated, i.e. that the distribution of collaborations has become more random over time. Decomposition of the results shows that the higher level of integration has resulted solely from a more evenly distributed pattern of country-country collaborations, while the bias in national collaborations has not decreased. From a policy perspective, one could argue that European funding, for what concerns European collaborations, has indeed resulted in decreasing biases among countries, but has not resulted in removing the strong propensity of institutions to engage in national collaborative projects. In the second part, I examine the geographical nature of differences in the propensity to collaborate. The results obtained so far show that larger countries are typically better integrated than smaller countries. This can be understood from the assumption that scientific research in the larger countries is most diversified rendering its scientific institutes on average more attractive to collaborative with. This result, however, is not taken to mean that the propensity to collaborate internationally is solely affected by the national level per se. In so far as diversification is related to spatial concentration of scientific research, the same effect should be visible at the city level. This hypothesis is addressed by disaggregation of the data at the level of cities. The analysis will show to what extent collaboration is biased in cities and whether the scale of cities is indeed affecting the propensity to collaborate. Finally, in the third part, the pattern of clustering among cities can indicate the emergence of national and trans-European clusters of cities. The latter type of clusters allows border cities that are peripheral with regard to the national distribution to increase their science base by means of local yet European collaboration. To the extent that this is true, European science policy should take into account the regional embeddedness of European collaborative projects. Furthermore it would imply that localities that are peripheral both in the national and the European sense face serious problems as their propensity to collaborate is expected to remain low. References Frenken, K. (2000) 'A complexity approach to innovation networks', Research Policy 29, 257-72. Frenken, K. (2001) 'Measuring European integration in scientific research', Paper presented at the ECIS Conference 'The Future of Innovation Studies', Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September

Optimal modularity: A demonstration of the evolutionary advantage of modular architectures

Modularity is an important concept in evolutionary theorizing but lack of a consistent definition renders study difficult. Using the generalised NK-model of fitness landscapes, we differentiate modularity from decomposability. Modular and decomposable systems are both composed of subsystems but in the former these subsystems are connected via interface standards while in the latter subsystems are completely isolated. We derive the optimal level of modularity, which minimises the time required to globally optimise a system, both for the case of two-layered systems and for the general case of multi-layered hierarchical systems containing modules within modules. This derivation supports the hypothesis of modularity as a mechanism to increase the speed of evolution. Our formal definition clarifies the concept of modularity and provides a framework and an analytical baseline for further research.Modularity, Decomposability, Near-decomposability, Complexity, NK-model, Search, hierarchy

The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography

Following last decadeÕs programmatic papers on Evolutionary Economic Geography, we report on recent empirical advances and how this empirical work can be positioned vis-ˆ-vis other strands of research in economic geography. First, we review studies on the path dependent nature of clustering, and how the evolutionary perspective relates to that of New Economic Geography. Second, we discuss research on agglomeration externalities in Regional Science, and how Evolutionary Economic Geography contributed to this literature with the concepts of cognitive proximity and related variety. Third, we go into the role of institutions in Evolutionary Economic Geography, and we relate this to the way Institutional Economic Geography tends to view institutions. From this discussion, a number of new research challenges are derived.evolutionary economic geography, clusters, related variety, institutions, regional branching

Some Notes on Institutions in Evolutionary Economic Geography

Within the evolutionary economic geography framework the role of institutions deserves more explicit attention. We argue that territorial institutions are to be viewed as orthogonal to organisational routines in that each territory is characterised by a variety of routines, and in that a single firm can apply its routines in different territorial contexts. It is therefore meaningful to distinguish between institutional economic geography and evolutionary economic geography as their explanans is different. Yet, the two approaches can be combined in a dynamic framework in which institutions co-evolve with organisational routines, particularly in emerging industries. Furthermore, integrating the evolutionary and institutional approach allows one to analyse the spatial diffusion of organisational routines that mediate conflicts between social groups, in particular, those between capitalists and labourers. An evolutionary economic geography advocates an empirical research program, both qualitative and quantitative, in which the relative importance of organisational routines and territorial institutions for regional development can be addressed.evolutionary economic geography, routines, institutions

The evolution of inventor networks in the Silicon Valley and Boston regions

While networks are widely thought to enhance regional innovative capability, there exist few longitudinal studies of their formation and evolution over time. Based on an analysis of all patenting inventors in the U.S. from 1975 to 2002, we observe dramatic aggregation of the regional inventor network in Silicon Valley around 1989. Based on network statistics, we argue that the sudden rise of giant networks in Silicon Valley can be understood as a phase transition during which small isolated networks form one giant component. By contrast, such a transition in Boston occurred much later and much less dramatically. We do not find convincing evidence that this marked difference between the two regions is due to regional differences in the propensity to collaborate or the involvement of universities in patenting. Interviews with key network players suggest that contingent labor mobility between established firms in Silicon Valley, in particular resulting from IBM’s policy as a central player in patenting activity, promoted inter-organizational networking, leading to larger inventor networks.evolutionary economic, inventor networks

Why is Economic Geography not an Evolutionary Science?

This paper explains the main commonalities and differences between neoclassical, institutional and evolutionary approaches that have been influential in economic geography during the last couple of decades. For all three approaches, we argue that they are in agreement in some respects and in conflict in other respects. While explaining to what extent and in what ways the Evolutionary Economic Geography approach differs from the Neoclassical (or ‘new’) Economic Geography and the Institutional Economic Geography, we can specify the value-added of economic geography as an evolutionary science. Finally, we briefly outline a research agenda of the Evolutionary Economic Geography we like to explore.

Models in evolutionary economics and environmental policy: Towards an evolutionary environmental economics

In this paper we review evolutionary economic modelling in relation to environmental policy. We discuss three areas in which evolutionary economic models have a particularly high added value for environmental policy-making: the double externality problem, technological transitions and consumer demand. We explore the possibilities to apply evolutionary economic models in environmental policy assessment, including the opportunities for making policy-making endogenous to environmental innovation. We end with a critical discussion of the challenges that remain.

Technological relatedness and regional branching

The relatedness between the technologies used among firms in a region is thought to affect the nature and scope of knowledge spillovers. In this paper, we set out how the concepts of technological relatedness and related variety have enriched recent literature in economic geography. First, applying the notion of related variety has led to new insights in the externalities literature. There is increasing evidence that regions with different but technologically related activities (related variety) benefit more from spillovers. Second, the technological relatedness concept has provided additional insights to the question whether extra-regional linkages matter for regional growth: it is not inflows of extra-regional knowledge per se, but inflows of knowledge that are related to the existing knowledge base of regions that might be crucial. Third, the concept of relatedness has found its way in network analysis. There is evidence that collaborative research projects tend to create more new knowledge when they consist of agents that bring in related competences. Linking network dynamics to the industry life-cycle approach, one expects that cognitive proximity levels between cluster firms will increase over time, with detrimental effects on their performance levels. Fourth, the cluster literature often regards labor mobility as a key mechanism through which knowledge diffuses, but no attention has been paid to relatedness until recently. And fifth, studies demonstrate that countries and regions tend to expand into sectors that are closely related to their existing activities. To the extent that new industries emerge from related industries, the sectoral composition of a regional economy affects the diversification opportunities of regions in the long run. This process of sectoral branching occurs primarily at the regional level, because it becomes manifest through a number of knowledge transfer mechanisms (i.e. spinoff activity, firm diversification, labor mobility and networking) that tend to be geographically bounded.evolutionary economic geography, technological relatedness, regional branching, related variety

Why is economic geography an evolutionary science?

During the past two decades, evolutionary economics has emerged as one of the innovative fields of research in economics, and in particular in the fields of the economics of technical change and theory of the firm (Nelson and Winter 1982; Dosi et al. 1988; Arthur 1994; Dosi et al. 2000). Parts of their subjects concern issues traditionally dealt with by economic geographers and regional scientists, including localised technological spill-overs, agglomeration economies, product life-cycle studies, international trade, spatial diffusion and regional policy. In some of these studies geography has been 'rediscovered', in particular those who are interested in uneven growth and development of regions and countries, and those who examine the role of proximity in technological innovation. In this paper, we aim to elaborate on a research programme for "evolutionary economic geography" following on a previous work (Boschma and Lambooy 1999). In short, the distinctive nature of such a programme lies in the integration of temporal (path-dependent) processes of economic change with spatial analysis of conditions and effects of such processes. For example, processes of structural change in economic regions are addressed as path-dependent and to a large extent irreversible economic processes that are enabled and constrained by technological and institutional networks that exist from the past (Boschma 1999). Similarly, the concept of national systems of innovation can be given an explicit evolutionary meaning when a national systems is modelled as an evolving complex system containing an interrelated set of institutions (Frenken 2000). It is further argued that the traditional research questions of economic geography and regional science remain pertinent, but that evolutionary economics provides a rich set of analytical and empirical tools to address these questions. Among these tools are: (i) simulation techniques from complexity studies that explicitly links micro-economic processes and macro-economic structures, (ii) empirical techniques that indicate the rate and nature of technical change, and historical studies that emphasise the role of "small events" in explaining long-run evolutionary specialisation patterns.