This paper traces the 11,000 year evolution of infrastructure systems during major periods of innovation, expansion and diffusion. Throughout history, the key role of the State is self-evident. Private sector involvement has waxed and waned over millennia, although at times it has been pivotal...

By merging individual data on valuable patents granted in Prussia in the late nineteenth century with county level information on literacy and income tax revenues we show that increases in the stock of human capital not only improved workers’ productivity but also accelerated innovative...

Innovation networking has become both more feasible with improved telecommunication and more important as it usually produces research of higher quality. However, the spatial distribution of academic networks and innovative networks are not uniform. Despite overwhelming evidence on the benefits...

The understanding of economic development in regions in developed countries has gone through a fundamental change during recent decades. Nowadays, regions are increasingly looked upon as independent, dynamic market places that are connected via flows of interregional and international trade....

FDI inflows have expanded rapidly during the past decade. This paper analyses if such inflows do introduce new characteristics of the innovation systems at national and regional levels. The paper studies two phenomena. First, what novelties are brought into the host region (country) when FDI...

The link between proximity and innovation has been dwelled upon extensively in the literature. A regional economic milieu characterized by proximity between relevant actors is maintained to be suitable for establishing and maintaining successful regional innovation system. In this paper it is...

This paper introduces a model where new products are introduced by entrepreneurs or innovating firms in a quasi-temporal setting. Market conditions are characterized by monopolistic competition between varieties belonging to the same product group, where varieties can become obsolete over time...

Continuous product and process innovations are prerequisites for sustainable competitiveness of both nations and regions. How such innovations are created and how successful innovation processes can be initiated are therefore extremely important questions. In recent years, it has been recognized...

Increased urbanization, global warming and sustainable growth belong to the major contemporary policy challenges. Today cities are home to more than 50% of the world population, the largest 600 urban centers generate about 60% of global GDP, and the agglomerated areas are responsible for 75% of...

In this paper, we focus on the connections between creativity, social capital and economic performance and growth. Our working hypothesis is that both creativity and social capital influences the economy, both each per se, but also through their influence on each other. We regard creativity as...