Why are some regions more innovative than others? The role of small firms in the presence of large labs

被引:68
作者
Agrawal, Ajay [1 ,2 ]
Cockburn, Iain [2 ,3 ]
Galasso, Alberto [4 ,5 ]
Oettl, Alexander [6 ]
机构
[1] Univ Toronto, Rotman Sch Management, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
[2] NBER, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
[3] Boston Univ, Boston, MA 02215 USA
[4] Univ Toronto, Inst Management & Innovat, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
[5] CEPR, Washington, DC USA
[6] Georgia Inst Technol, Scheller Coll Business, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
关键词
Innovation; Spin-outs; Cities; Patents; Firm size diversity; Externalities; RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT; MARKET-STRUCTURE; SCOPE; TAX; PRODUCTIVITY; OPPORTUNITY; SCALE; GALE; SIZE;
D O I
10.1016/j.jue.2014.03.003
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
We study the impact of small firms on innovation in regions where large labs are present. Small firms generate demand for specialized services that lower entry costs for others. This effect is particularly relevant in the presence of large firms that spawn spin-outs caused by innovations deemed unrelated to the firm's overall business. We examine MSA-level patent data during the period 1975-2000 and find that innovation output is higher in regions where both a sizable population of small firms and large labs are present. The finding is robust to across-region as well as within-region analysis and the effect is stronger in certain subsamples in a manner that is consistent with our explanation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:149 / 165
页数:17
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