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Boosting, Sorting, and Complexity. Urban Scaling of Innovation Around the World

Author

Listed:
  • Tom Broekel
  • Louis Knupling
  • Lars Mewes
Abstract
It is widely understood that innovations tend to be concentrated in cities, which is evidenced by innovative output increasing disproportionately with city size. Yet, given the heterogeneity of countries and technologies, few studies explore the relationship between population and innovation numbers. For instance, in the USA, innovative output scaling is substantial and is particularly pronounced for complex technologies. Whether this is a universal pattern of complex technologies and a potential facilitator of scaling, is unknown. Our analysis compared urban scaling in urban areas across 33 countries and 569 technologies. Considerable variation was identified between countries, which is rooted in two fundamental mechanisms (sorting and boosting). The sorting of innovation-intensive technologies is found to drive larger innovation counts among cities. Among most countries, this mechanism contributes to scaling more than city size boosting innovation within specific technologies. While complex technologies are concentrated in large cities and benefit from the advantages of urbanization, their contribution to the urban scaling of innovations is limited.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Broekel & Louis Knupling & Lars Mewes, 2023. "Boosting, Sorting, and Complexity. Urban Scaling of Innovation Around the World," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2308, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Mar 2023.
  • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:2308
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ron Boschma & Rune Fitjar & Elisa Giuliani & Simona Iammarino, 2024. "Unseen costs: the inequities of the geography of innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2428, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2024.
    2. Josef Taalbi & Mikhail Martynovich, 2024. "On the urban bias of patents and the scaling of innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2422, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2024.
    3. Milad Abbasiharofteh & Tom Broekel & Lars Mewes, 2024. "The Roles of Geographic Distance and Technological Complexity in U.S. Interregional Co-patenting Over Almost Two Centuries," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2414, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2024.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; urban scaling; complexity; patents; sorting; geography of innovation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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