Giovanni Guastella

Regional Heterogeneity and Interregional Research Spillovers in European Innovation: Modelling and Policy Implications

Guastella G. and van Oort F. G. Regional heterogeneity and interregional research spillovers in European innovation: modelling and policy implications, Regional Studies. In agglomeration studies the effects of various regional externalities related to knowledge spillovers remain largely unclear. To explain innovation clustering, scholars emphasize the contribution of localized knowledge spillovers (LKS) and, specifically when estimating the knowledge production function (KPF), of (interregional) research spillovers. However, less attention is paid to other causes of spatial heterogeneity. In applied works, spatial association in data is econometrically related to evidence of research spillovers. This paper argues that, in a KPF setting, omitting spatial heterogeneity might lead to biased estimates of the effect of research spillovers. As an empirical test, a spatial KPF is estimated using EU-25 regional data, including a spatial trend to control for unexplained spatial variation in innovation. Accounting for geographical characteristics substantially weakens evidence of interregional research spillovers.

Agglomeration Economies and Entrepreneurship in Italy and in Emilia Romagna Region: Empirical Evidences in the Manufacturing Industries

Entrepreneurship is among the most important elements for the evaluation of the local territorial development and it is certainly a meaningful indicator to understand interregional differences in economic development. Traditional explanations of entrepreneurship rely on evaluating the role of characteristics of the macro environment (profitability, labor market) as well as of the micro environment (composition of local industries). In this work an attempt is made to study this second element, deriving from the literature three hypothesis concerning the linkage between agglomeration economies and local entrepreneurship. The three hypothesis are tested applying an empirical model of entrepreneurial choice and using provincial and industrial data, for the Emilia Romagna region and for Italy. The aim is to characterize the industrial environment of Emilia Romagna region, to explain the superior performance of this region, compared to the others of Italy. Results indicate that, differently from the remainder of Italy, provinces in Emilia Romagna benefit from a greater industrial diversification, which definitively stimulates new firms formation.