An expanded knowledge production function

This paper uses a theoretical motivation for an Expanded Knowledge Production Function(EKPF) that encompasses both path dependence and spatial spillovers to search for evidences inBrazil using a Dynamic Spatial Panel Data approach. The purpose is to identify the determinantsof knowledge production in the 2005-2015 period as well as its temporal evolution, usinginnovation patents as proxies. Regarding its spatial distribution, we identified a North-Southdisparity for the knowledge production in Brazil, with Southeast and South producing alarge part of the country’s patents. Based on the EKPF, we confirmed the importance ofpath dependence and knowledge spillovers to explain the Brazilian innovation. In addition,population density, which generates Jacobian externalities and economies of agglomeration, isan important structural feature in the short run while the number of researchers in universitiesand an increased economic scale are essential to knowledge production in the long run.

Rural Districts and Business Agglomerations in Low-Density Business Environments. The Case of Extremadura (Spain)

The strategy of the institutionalization and development of business agglomerations, in any of its analytical aspects (industrial district, local production system, cluster, etc.), has not had great results in Spanish regions with low business-density, probably due to the difficulty of finding an adequate implementation framework in administrative, geographic, and institutional terms. Based on the limitations presented by the identification methodologies of business agglomerations in low business-density territories, in this work we propose some methodological corrections that allow for reconciling these economic realities with the institutional and geographical framework offered by the local action groups (LAGs). This reconciliation is a useful tool to take advantage of the economies of agglomeration and, consequently, to explore the possibilities of endogenous development in rural areas, so that it can be a factor to take into account when planning and executing the public strategy of local and rural development. Finally, the results obtained for the specific case of Extremadura, the only Spanish region listed as a less developed one in European rural development policies, are presented.

The impact of international tourism on hotel sales performance: New proposals and evidence

Using data from 31 provinces/municipalities in China from 2003 to 2018, this article examines the impact of international tourism on hotel sales revenue (HSR). Specifically, this study lays a theoretical foundation for investigations of the nonlinear and state-dependent effects of international tourist arrivals (ITAs) on HSR. Results of both traditional and dynamic panel regression test models reveal the following interesting results. First, the positive relationship between ITA and hotel performance is not unique to Taiwan but is also found in Mainland China. Second, based on the theory of economies of agglomeration, the impact of ITA on HSR is found to be inverse U-shaped. Third, the effects of ITA on HSR are economic state-dependent, relying to a great extent on economic conditions. Furthermore, ITA has a stronger impact on HSR during periods of economic expansion. Important policy implications are provided based on the empirical results.

Regional Growth and the Persistence of Regional Income Inequality in Argentina in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Southern and central regions of Argentina moved from being relatively poor in the sixteenth century to being the richest in the country today. Although there is some evidence of this reversal, the process of regional growth in Argentina in the first half of the twentieth century is, in the main, unknown. In this paper, we present an estimation of the GDPs of Argentina's 25 provinces in 1914: this is the first consistent estimation of this variable for any period before the 1950s. Our results confirm that in 1914 the city of Buenos Aires and some districts in Patagonia had the highest per capita GDP, and a comparison with the available data for 1953 shows strong persistence in incomes per capita in this period; sectoral analysis of provincial GDPs suggests that growth in the leading districts was driven by economies of agglomeration in some cases and land abundance in others.

ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING CAPABILITY AND INNOVATION: STUDY ON COMPANIES LOCATED IN REGIONAL CLUSTER

The paper aims at addressing the influence of organisational learning capability on innovation performance of firms embedded in a regional cluster. Using a structural equation modelling, and based on a survey data of firms in the textile industry, we tested the relationships between learning capability, innovation and regional cluster’s embeddedness. The results of the model estimates show that while learning capability has a positive effect on the innovation performance of firms (efficiency and effectiveness), organisations embedded in territorial agglomerations reveal a greater degree of cooperation and creation of local capabilities, once they make part of a local productive and innovative system. The results also shed light on how the complex relationships between economies of agglomeration and the learning process affect innovation of firms. More, particularly, we suggest that the degree of cooperation among firms and the development of organisational capability may affect their innovation performance. While we do not compare the performance of firms inside and outside regional cluster, we attempted to set up how different degrees of cooperation can shape the development of innovation capabilities and innovation performance.