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Hipsters vs. geeks? Creative workers, STEM and innovation in US cities

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  • Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés
  • Lee, Neil
Abstract
Innovation in cities is increasingly regarded as an outcome of two potential inputs: scientific activity and creativity. Recent firm level research has suggested that what really matters for innovation is the combination of these two inputs, rather than the mere presence of workers representing each group. Yet there is little evidence on whether this relationship holds at the city level. This paper investigates this gap in our knowledge by examining how the simultaneous presence of STEM (geeks) and creative workers (hipsters) in 290 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas during the period between 2005 and 2015 has contributed to determine city level innovation. The results indicate that, although at first sight the presence of STEM workers is a more important driver of innovation than that of creative ones, it is the combination of both factors that maximizes innovation in US cities. The most innovative cities are precisely those that are more successful at combining the two. Hence, current policies which tend to focus mainly on either STEM or creativity may be better targeted at ensuring both are present.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Lee, Neil, 2020. "Hipsters vs. geeks? Creative workers, STEM and innovation in US cities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103974, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:103974
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    Cited by:

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    2. Obschonka, Martin & Tavassoli, Sam & Rentfrow, P. Jason & Potter, Jeff & Gosling, Samuel D., 2023. "Innovation and inter-city knowledge spillovers: Social, geographical, and technological connectedness and psychological openness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).
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    5. Glenn Dutcher & Cortney S. Rodet, 2022. "Which two heads are better than one? Uncovering the positive effects of diversity in creative teams," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 884-897, November.
    6. Mercedes Campi & Marco Dueñas & Tommaso Ciarli, 2024. "Do creative industries enhance employment growth? Regional evidence from Colombia," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 425-441, March.
    7. Douglas S. Noonan & Shiri M. Breznitz & Sana Maqbool, 2021. "Flocking to the crowd: Cultural entrepreneur mobility guided by homophily, market size, or amenities?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 45(4), pages 577-611, December.
    8. Carolina Castaldi & Kyriakos Drivas, 2023. "Relatedness, Cross-relatedness and Regional Innovation Specializations: An Analysis of Technology, Design, and Market Activities in Europe and the US," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 99(3), pages 253-284, May.
    9. Chiara Dalle Nogare & Monika Murzyn-Kupisz, 2021. "Do museums foster innovation through engagement with the cultural and creative industries?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 45(4), pages 671-704, December.
    10. Etienne Capron & Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux & Raphaël Suire, 2020. "Anatomy of a techno-creative community, the role of places and events in the emergence of projection mapping," Post-Print hal-03252158, HAL.
    11. Douglas S. Noonan & Shiri M. Breznitz & Sana Maqbool, 2021. "Looking for a change in scene: analyzing the mobility of crowdfunding entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 685-703, August.
    12. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Jamie Griffiths, 2021. "Developing intermediate cities," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 441-456, June.
    13. Homero Rodríguez-Insuasti & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Otto Suárez-Rodríguez & Marcela Yonfá-Medranda & Katherine Parrales-Guerrero, 2022. "Creative Economy: A Worldwide Research in Business, Management and Accounting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    14. Milene Simone Tessarin & Carlos Roberto Azzoni, 2022. "Innovation and competitiveness: the regional dimension," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2227, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Oct 2022.
    15. Etienne Capron & Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux & Raphaël Suire, 2020. "Anatomy of a techno-creative community : the role of places and events in the emergence of videomapping in Nantes," Working Papers hal-02617101, HAL.
    16. Yijie Li & Hanyu Zhu & Qianzhu Chen & Yi Su, 2024. "Comparative Study on the Agglomeration Degree and Influencing Factors of the Urban Creative Class in the Central Area of the Yangtze River Delta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-24, June.
    17. Su, Chi-Wei & Yuan, Xi & Umar, Muhammad & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona, 2022. "Does technological innovation bring destruction or creation to the labor market?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    18. Carolina Castaldi, 2024. "The geography of urban innovation beyond patents only: New evidence on large and secondary cities in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(7), pages 1248-1272, May.
    19. Gutierrez-Posada, Diana & Kitsos, Tasos & Nathan, Max & Nuccio, Massimiliano, 2021. "Do Creative Industries Generate Multiplier Effects? Evidence from UK Cities, 1997-2018," SocArXiv xs8zg, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cities; creative class; creativity; innovation; STEM; United States;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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