TY - JOUR
T1 - The dark side of the geography of innovation
T2 - relatedness, complexity and regional inequality in Europe
AU - Pinheiro, Flávio L.
AU - Balland, Pierre-Alexandre
AU - Boschma, Ron
AU - Hartmann, Dominik
N1 - info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04152%2F2020/PT#
Pinheiro, F. L., Balland, P-A., Boschma, R., & Hartmann, D. (2022). The dark side of the geography of innovation: relatedness, complexity and regional inequality in Europe. Regional Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2022.2106362------------------------Funding: Flavio L. Pinheiro acknowledges the financial support provided by FCT Portugal under the project UIDB/0415s2/2020 – Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC). Dominik Hartmann would like to express his gratitude for the financial support of CNPq [grant numbers 406943/2021-4 and 315441/2021-6]. Ron Boschma acknowledges the support from the European Union-funded PILLARS (Pathways to IncLusive LAbouR marketS) project [grant agreement number 101004703]. Pierre-Alexandre Balland acknowledges the financial support from the MSCA-RISE TREND (Transition with Resilience for Evolutionary Development) project [grant agreement number 823952].
PY - 2022/9/7
Y1 - 2022/9/7
N2 - As regions evolve, their economies become more complex, and they tend to diversify into related activities. Although there is a bright side to this diversification process in terms of economic development, there may also be a dark side to it, as it possibly contributes to regional inequalities. The paper uses data on industries and patents to analyze the diversification patterns of 283 regions in 32 European countries over the past 15 years. We find that only the most economically advanced regions have the opportunity to diversify into highly complex activities. These regions tend to focus on related high-complex activities, while lagging regions focus on related low-complex activities, creating a spatial inequality feedback loop. This pattern creates a wicked problem for innovation policy: the strategy needed to improve the innovativeness of the European knowledge system might disproportionately benefit regions that are already developed and foster disparities.
AB - As regions evolve, their economies become more complex, and they tend to diversify into related activities. Although there is a bright side to this diversification process in terms of economic development, there may also be a dark side to it, as it possibly contributes to regional inequalities. The paper uses data on industries and patents to analyze the diversification patterns of 283 regions in 32 European countries over the past 15 years. We find that only the most economically advanced regions have the opportunity to diversify into highly complex activities. These regions tend to focus on related high-complex activities, while lagging regions focus on related low-complex activities, creating a spatial inequality feedback loop. This pattern creates a wicked problem for innovation policy: the strategy needed to improve the innovativeness of the European knowledge system might disproportionately benefit regions that are already developed and foster disparities.
KW - Dark side of innovation
KW - Geography of innovation
KW - Regional diversification
KW - Complexity
KW - Regional inequality
KW - Smart Specialisation Policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137764304&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000852534000001
U2 - 10.1080/00343404.2022.2106362
DO - 10.1080/00343404.2022.2106362
M3 - Article
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - Regional Studies
JF - Regional Studies
SN - 0034-3404
ER -