Knowledge Spillovers and Economic Growth

Regional Growth Differentials across Europe

New Horizons in the Economics of Innovation series

Marjolein C.J. Caniëls, Open University Heerlen, The Netherlands

The author examines the way in which regions grow by receiving knowledge from surrounding regions. Using evolutionary theory, she advances the argument that knowledge spillovers operate locally. Computer-simulations analyse the impact of knowledge spillovers on economic growth across European regions. Finally, the author uses new original data on, among others, patents and research and development to demonstrate differences in economic and innovative activity across regions.

‘. . . this book is a valuable and welcome contribution to the growing field of evolutionary minded models that are concerned with the spatial structure of industrial development . . . Marjolein Caniëls deserves particular credit for combining the two dimensions of technological and spatial distance in order to explain the stylized facts of regional economic development.’
– Michael Peneder, Journal of Evolutionary Economics

‘. . . the book gives a valuable contribution to the understanding of the role of knowledge in the regional growth process, as the methodological approach is eclectic and stimulating. . . the book represents a stimulating contribution to the debate among economists, social scientists, and policymakers on the role of knowledge and knowledge spillovers on the future growth patterns of industrialised countries.’
– Maurizio Baussola, The Economic Journal

‘The subject of economic growth has emerged in the last several years as the most important topic in economics among academics as well as policymakers. This book makes a valuable and important contribution to identifying a key force driving economic growth in the leading developed countries – knowledge spillovers. After reading this carefully crafted book, no academic economist or policymaker will have any doubt in the primacy of knowledge in the process of economic growth.’
– David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, Bloomington, US and Otto Beisheim School WHU, Germany