Abstract
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.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Albert R., Barabasi A.L.: Statistical mechanics of complex networks. Rev. Mod. Phys. 74, 47–99 (2002)
Audretsch D.B., Feldman M.P.: R&D spillovers and the geography of innovation and production. Am. Econ. Rev. 3, 630–640 (1996)
Barigozzi M., Fagiolo G., Garlaschelli D.: The multi-network of international trade: a commodity-specific analysis. Phys. Rev. E 81, 046104 (2010)
Barnett A.H., Ault R.W., Kaserman D.L.: The rising incidence of co-authorship in economics: further evidence. Rev. Econ. Stat. 70, 539–543 (1988)
Bathelt H., Malmberg A., Maskell P.: Clusters and knowledge: local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 28, 31–56 (2004)
Breschi S., Cusmano L.: Unveiling the texture of a European research area: emergence of oligarchic networks under EU framework programmes. Int. J. Technol. Manag. 27, 747–772 (2004)
Breschi S., Lissoni F.: Knowledge spillovers and local innovation systems: a critical survey. Ind. Corp. Change 4, 975–1005 (2001)
Breschi, S., Lissoni, F.: Mobility and social networks: local knowledge spillovers revisited. CESPRI, Working Paper No. 142 (2003)
Broder A., Kumar R., Maghoul F., Raghavan P., Rajagopalan S., Stata R., Tomkins A., Wiener J.: Graph structure in the web. Comput. Netw. 33, 309–320 (2000)
Burris V.: Interlocking directorates and political cohesion among corporate elites. Am. J. Sociol. 111, 249–283 (2005)
Cainelli, G., Maggioni, M.A., Uberti, T.E., De Felice, A.: The strength of strong ties: co-authorship and productivity among Italian economists. Marco Fanno Working Papers 125-2010 (2010)
Callander S., Plott C.R.: Principles of network development and evolution: an experimental study. J. Public Econ. 89, 1469–1495 (2005)
Cantner U., Graf H.: The network of innovators in Jena: an application of social network analysis. Res. Policy 35, 463–480 (2006)
Carayol N., Roux P.: Knowledge flows and the geography of networks: A strategic model of small world formation. J. Econ. Behav. Org. 71, 414–427 (2009)
Cassi L., Zirulia L.: The opportunity cost of social relations: On the effectiveness of small worlds. J. Evol. Econ. 18, 77–101 (2008)
Conte, A., Di Cagno, D., Sciubba, E.: Strategies in social network formation. Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0905, Birkbeck. Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics, London (2009)
Cowan R., Jonard N.: The dynamics of collective invention. J. Econ. Behav. Org. 52, 513–532 (2003)
Cowan R., Jonard N.: Network structure and the diffusion of knowledge. J. Econ. Dynam. Control 28, 1557–1575 (2004)
Cowan R., Jonard N.: If the alliance fits .... Innovation and network dynamics. In: Baum, J.A.C., Rowley, T.J. (eds) Network Strategy: Advances in Strategic Management, Elsevier, Oxford (2008)
Daley D.J., Gani J.: Epidemic Modelling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2000)
Davis A., Gardner B.B., Gardner M.R.: Deep South: A Social Anthropological Study of Caste and Class. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1941)
Davis G.F., Yoo M., Baker W.E.: The small world of the American corporate elite, 1981–2001. Strategic Org. 1, 301–326 (2003)
De Benedictis, L., Tajoli, L.: The world trade network. Working Papers 51-2009. Department of Finance and Economic Sciences, Macerata University (2009)
Di Cagno, D., Sciubba, E.: Social networks and trust: not the experimental evidence you may expect. Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0801, Birkbeck. Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics, London (2008)
Doreian P., Batagelj V., Ferligoj A.: Generalized blockmodeling of two-mode network data. Soc. Netw. 26, 29–53 (2004)
Döring T., Schnellenbach J.: What do we know about geographical knowledge spillovers and regional growth?: A survey of the literature. Reg. Stud. 3, 375–395 (2006)
Ejermo O., Karlsson C.: Interregional inventor networks as studied by patent coinventorships. Res. Policy 35, 412–430 (2006)
Erdos P., Reny A.: On random graphs, I. Publicationes Mathematicae 6, 290–297 (1959)
European Commission-Cordis. http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html. Accessed 17 March 2010
Fagiolo G.: The international-trade network: gravity equations and topological properties. J. Econ. Interact. Coord. 5, 1–25 (2010)
Fagiolo, G., Reyes, J., Schiavo, S.: International trade and financial integration: a weighted network analysis. Documents de Travail de l’OFCE 2007-11, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (2007)
Fagiolo G., Reyes J., Schiavo S.: The world-trade web: topological properties, dynamics, and evolution. Phys. Rev. E 79, 036115 (2009)
Falk, A., Kosfeld, M.: It’s all about connections: evidence on network formation. CEPR Discussion Papers 3970, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers (2003)
Galaskiewicz J., Marsden P.V.: Interorganizational resource networks: formal patterns of overlap. Soc. Sci. Res. 7, 89–107 (1978)
Gersbach H., Schmutzler A.: External spillovers, internal spillovers and the geography of production and innovation. Reg. Sci. Urban Econ. 29, 679–696 (1999)
Giuliani E.: The selective nature of knowledge networks in clusters: evidence from the wine industry. J. Econ. Geog. 7, 139–168 (2007)
Giuliani E., Bell M.: The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster. Res. Policy 34, 47–68 (2005)
Goyal S.: Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks. Princeton University Press, Princeton (2009)
Hudson J.: Trends in multi-authored papers in economics. J. Econ. Perspect. 10, 153–158 (1996)
Hummon N.P., Doreian P.: Connectivity in a citation network: the development of dna theory. Soc. Netw. 11, 39–63 (1989)
Jackson M.O.: A survey of models of network formation: stability and efficiency. In: Demange, G., Wooders, M. (eds) Group Formation In Economics; Networks, Clubs and Coalitions, pp. 11–56. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2004)
Jackson M.O.: Social and Economic Networks. Princeton University Press, Princeton (2009)
Jackson M.O., Wolinsky A.: A strategic model of social and economic networks. J. Econ. Theory 71, 44–74 (1996)
Jackson M.O., Watts A.: The evolution of social and economic networks. J. Econ. Theory 2, 265–295 (2002a)
Jackson M.O., Watts A.: On the formation of interaction networks in social coordination games. Games Econ. Behav. 2, 265–291 (2002b)
Jaffe, A.B.: Quantifying the Effects of Technological Opportunity and Research Spillovers in Industrial Innovation. Ph.D. Thesis, Harvard University (1983)
Jaffe A.B., Trajtenberg M.: Patents, Citations and Innovations: A Window on the Knowledge Economy. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2002)
Kreps D.M.: A Course in Microeconomic Theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1990)
Leoncini R., Maggioni M.A., Montresor S.: Intersectoral innovation flows and national technological systems: network analysis for comparing Italy and Germany. Res. Policy 25, 415–430 (1996)
Maggioni M.A.: The dynamics of open source software communities and industrial districts: the role of market and non-market interactions. Rev. Econ. Ind. 107, 127–150 (2004)
Maggioni M.A, Bramanti A.: Local and global networks in the economics of SMEs. In: McNaughton, R., Green, M. (eds) Is Proximity the Only Thing that Matters? Global Competition and Local Networks, pp. 249–281. Ashgate, London (2002)
Maggioni, M.A., Miglierina, C.: Dov’è il motore del sistema tecnologico nazionale: un’analisi spaziale dei flussi innovativi intersettoriali. In: Gorla, G., Vito Colonna, O. (eds.) Regioni and sviluppo: modelli, pp. 79–114. politiche and riforme Franco Angeli, Milano (1995)
Maggioni M.A., Roncari S.N.: Learning, innovation, growth and the emergence of industrial clusters: an agent-based mode. In: Fratesi, U., Senn, L. (eds) Growth and Innovation in Competitive Regions, pp. 117–144. Springer, Heidelberg (2009)
Maggioni M.A., Uberti T.E.: La geo-economia del cyberspazio. Globalizzazione reale e globalizzazione digitale. In: Villani, A. (eds) Tesi Sulla Globalizzazione, pp. 230–288. Franco Angeli, Milano (2004)
Maggioni M.A., Uberti T.E.: Inter-regional knowledge flows in Europe: an econometric analysis. In: Frenken, K. (eds) Applied Evolutionary Economics and Economic Geography, pp. 230–255. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham (2007)
Maggioni, M.A, Uberti, T.E.: Learning mechanisms and transactions costs. In: The Dynamics of Firms Clusters as Complex Systems and Networks, Presentation at the 3rd Toyota CRDL Workshop, Mathematical Methods in Complex Systems, Gemenos, Marseille 14–18 October 2008 (2008)
Maggioni M.A., Uberti T.E.: Knowledge networks across Europe: which distance matters?. Ann. Reg. Sci. 43, 691–720 (2009a)
Maggioni, M.A., Uberti, T.E.: Network analysis of an industrial district. In: Knowledge and Financial Flows in Castelgoffredo, Paper Presented at the 2nd SNAID International Workshop, 11 December 2009, Milano (2009b)
Maggioni M.A., Nosvelli M., Uberti T.E.: Space versus networks in the geography of innovation: A European analysis. Pap. Reg. Sci. 86, 471–493 (2007)
Maggioni, M.A., Gambarotto, F., Uberti, T.E.: Mapping the evolution of “clusters”: a meta-analysis. Working Papers 2009-74, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (2009)
Maggioni, M.A., Uberti, T.E., Usai, S.: Treating patent as relational data: knowledge transfers and spillovers across Italian provinces. Indus. Innov. 39–67 (2011b)
Marsden P.V.: Recent developments in network measurement. In: Carrington, P.J., Scott, J., Wasserman, S. (eds) Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis, pp. 8–30. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2005)
McDowell J.M., Melvin M.: The determinants of co-authorship: an analysis of the economics literature. Rev. Econ. Stat. 1, 155–160 (1983)
Milgram S.: The small world problem. Psychol. Today 2, 60–67 (1967)
Mizruchi M.S.: What do interlocks do? an analysis, critique, and assessment of research on interlocking directorates. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 22, 271–298 (1996)
Moen J.: Is mobility of technical personnel a source of R&D spillovers?. J. Lab. Econ. 1, 81–114 (2005)
Moreno J.L.: Sociogram and sociomatrix: A note to the paper by Foryth and Katz. Sociometry 1, 348–349 (1946)
Morrison A.: Morrison gatekeepers of knowledge within industrial districts: who they are, how they interact. Reg. Stud. 42, 817–835 (2008)
Newman M.E.J.: The structure and function of complex networks. SIAM Rev. 45, 167–256 (2003)
Ortega, J.L., Aguillo, I.F.: Network collaboration in the 6th Framework Programmes: country participation in the health thematic area. Scientometrics (2010). doi:10.1007/s11192-010-0212-x
Samuleson P.A.: Economics: an introductory analysis. McGraw-Hill, New York (1948)
Scherngell T., Barber M.J.: Spatial interaction modelling of cross-region R&D collaborations: empirical evidence from the 5th EU framework programme. Pap. Reg. Sci. 88, 531–546 (2009)
Schweitzer F., Fagiolo G., Sornette D., Vega-Redondo F., Vespignani A., White D.R.: Economic networks: the new challenges. Science 325, 422–425 (2009)
Snijders T.A.B.: Models for longitudinal network data. In: Carrington, P., Scott, J., Wasserman, S. (eds) Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis, pp. 215–247. Cambridge University Press, New York (2005)
Snijders T.A.B.: Longitudinal methods of network analysis. In: Meyers, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Complexity and System Science, pp. 5998–6013. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg (2009)
Snijders T.A.B, Baerveldt C.: A multilevel network study of the effects of delinquent behaviour on friendship evolution. J. Math. Sociol. 27, 123–151 (2003)
Snijders, T.A.B., Steglich, C.E.G., Schweinberger, M.: Modeling the Coevolution of Networks and Behaviour. Mimeo (2005)
Snijders T.A.B., Steglich C.E.G., van de Bunt G.G.: Introduction to actor-based models for network dynamics. Soc. Netw. 32, 44–60 (2010)
Snyder D., Kick E.L.: Structural position in the world system and economic growth, 1955–1970: a multiple network analysis of transnational interactions. Am. J. Sociol. 84, 1096–1126 (1979)
Steglich, C.E.G., Snijders, T.A.B., Pearson, M.: Dynamic Networks and Behaviour: Separating Selection from Influence. http://stat.gamma.rug.nl/snijders/SSP_total.pdf (2005)
Stockman F.N., Doreian P.: Evolution of social networks: processes and principles. In: Doreian, P., Stokman, F.N. (eds) Evolution of Social Networks, pp. 233–250. Gordon and Breach, New York (1997)
Ter Wal A.L.J.: Cluster emergence and network evolution: a longitudinal analysis of the inventor network in Sophia-Antipolis. Reg. Stud. 10, 739–756 (2010a)
Ter Wal, A.L.J.: The dynamics of inventor networks in biotechnology: geographical proximity versus triadic closure. In: Best Paper Proceedings of the Academy of Management Meeting (2010b)
Ter Wal A., Boschma R.: Applying social network analysis in economic geography: framing some key analytic issues. Ann. Reg. Sci. 43, 739–756 (2009)
Tinbergen, J.: Shaping the World Economy: Suggestions for an International Economic Policy. The twentieth Century Found, New York (1962)
Uberti, T.E.: Struttura ed evoluzione del commercio internazionale di beni ad alta tecnologia: un’analisi reticolare, BA thesis, Milano (1998)
Uberti, T.E.: Flussi commerciali, tecnologici ed informativi: elementi per un’analisi del processo di globalizzazione. Ph.D. thesis, Milano (2003)
Vega Redondo F.: Complex Social Networks. Cambridge University Press, New York (2007)
Verspagen, B.: Mapping technological trajectories as patent citation networks. In: A Study on the History of Fuel Cell Research. MERIT Research Memoranda (2005)
Wasserman S., Faust K.: Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1994)
Watts D.: Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks Between Order and Randomness. Princeton University Press, Pricenton (1999)
Watts D., Strogatz S.H.: Collective dynamics of “small-world” networks. Nature 393, 440–442 (1998)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maggioni, M.A., Uberti, T.E. Networks and geography in the economics of knowledge flows. Qual Quant 45, 1031–1051 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9488-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9488-z