Networks and geography in the economics of knowledge flows

This paper reviews the literature dealing with the economic geography of knowledge flows by summarising the most relevant problems and open questions that, according to the authors’ view, have been dealt in the past and should be dealt in the future by network analysis in order to model, understand and measure the structure and dynamics of knowledge flows. The interaction between “networks” and “geography” elements within a theoretical, methodological and empirical perspective is discussed throughout the paper by making reference to previous works by the authors and to the established literature. Thus, these references, far from being complete and exhaustive, are instrumental to the achievement of the paper’s goal: to demonstrate that “networks” and “geography” are the necessary ingredients for every study of the innovative process at any level of analysis, from individual agent to institution/organization, from the regional to the national and international level.     

Networks and geography in the economics of knowledge flows: a commentary

In the paper “Networks and geography in the economics of knowledge flows” Maggioni and Uberti provide a rich and detailed overview of the current state-of-art and future challenges of the analysis of knowledge flows in economics. Maggioni and Uberti illustrate how geographical factors and network factors can explain spatial patterns of knowledge flows. This commentary portrays where the type of studies discussed by the authors fit in the wider literature on geography, networks and knowledge flows. Second, the commentary discusses the suggestions of future research the authors describe and proposes some further avenues for future research that are in line with those suggested by the authors. In particular, it zooms in onto the role of comparative statics in studies of network dynamics, stochastic estimation models of network evolution and content-based network analysis in pushing the frontier of research on networks, geography and knowledge flows.     

A new economic geography model of central places

One of the most striking feature of the space-economy is that cities form a hierarchical system exhibiting some regularity in terms of their size and the array of goods they supply. In order to show how such a hierarchical system may emerge, we consider a model with monopolistically competitive markets for the industrial sectors. As transport costs steadily decrease from large values, the urban system formed by several small cities entails structural changes in that some cities expand at the expense of the others by attracting a growing number of industries. Beyond some threshold, some cities disappear from the space-economy. Such an evolution of the urban system describes fairly well what has been observed in various historical periods that have experienced major changes in transportation technologies and/or political unification.     

A study of the performance of Developmental Studies students in the principles of economics

This study assesses the performance of Developmental Studies students in the principles of economics. The null hypothesis is that once demographic and academic variables are taken into account, completion of a developmental studies course(s) contributes nothing to the probability of success in a principles of economics course. The study analyzes a sample of 1,053 principles of economics students during the 1989 academic year. A logit regression model is used to estimate the probability of successfully completing a course in the principles of economics. The study finds that the completion of the Developmental Study Skills course is an important determinant of the probability of success in the principles of economics courses.     

Accounting and business economics traditions in the Netherlands

Until the 1970s Dutch accounting theorists generally showed a strong inclination towards the formulation of deductive theories. A set of different disciplines, all related to the problems of the business firm, made up a whole called ‘bedrijfseconomie’ (business economics). The theory of value, which was tantamount to the theory of replacement value, was without doubt the core of ‘bedrijfseconomie’. This paper elaborates on the changes in contents and consequences of this theory of replacement value during the second part of this century. Furthermore three other technical aspects of the accounting part of business economics will also be discussed: social accounting and reporting, translation of foreign currencies, and intangibles, especially goodwill. Since the seventies the construct of ‘bedrijfseconomie’ has fallen apart. Each discipline formerly belonging to it, has independently found its tie-up with the respective international scientific developments. ‘Bedrijfseconomie’ has lost its significance as a comprehensive academic discipline.     

Directional imbalance in transport prices and economic geography

This paper examines how and why transport prices become imbalanced with respect to the direction of shipments and how this affects economic geography. It is shown that the equilibrium transport price of the shipment in a particular direction is a nondecreasing function of the relative size of the embarkation region. Furthermore, we show that the directional imbalance in transport prices increases the likelihood of the symmetric pattern being stable and decreases the likelihood of the core-periphery patterns being sustainable. In short, the imbalance acts as a dispersion force.     

Growth in transition: Reexamining the roles of factor inputs and geography

In this paper we re-consider the role of factor inputs in determination of long-run growth for transition countries. For this purpose, we estimate cross-sectional growth equations using spatial econometric models. Investments in physical and human capital are found to be significant growth factors for the period after 1994. The estimated coefficients are very similar to those obtained in the literature for developed market economies. We also find evidence for spatial autocorrelation of growth, due mostly to the wars and financial crises in the region. Correction for such correlation increases the significance of the explanatory variables.     

A comment on “normalization in point estimation”

A proper Bayesian analysis is invariant to changes in normalization, contrary to the impression left by ‘Normalization in Point Estimation’.