AUTHORS
Ronald B. Davies, Gianluca Santoni, Farid Toubal and Giulio Vannelli
Abstract
This study explores the connection between regional labor markets, knowledge spillovers, and technological diversification in 272 European regions for 2011-2021. We find that innovation – measured as the number of patents – has a strong, positive correlation with employment. Furthermore, regions where innovation is more connected to other research via forward and backward citations tend to experience greater employment. Finally, when a region’s research is concentrated in a small number of technological fields and/or unevenly distributed across those fields, it tends towards lower employment. Finally, granular analysis finds that the effects are strongest in manufacturing, for STEM workers and highly educated workers more broadly. Thus, the most effective development strategy will likely involve not just the promotion of R&D but also greater connections with global knowledge networks and a more diverse set of technical fields.
Keywords:
Knowledge spillovers, Employment, Innovation, Technological diversification
Publication Date
June 2025
Working papers present the results of ongoing research and make current research results freely available. Due to their preliminary nature, working papers are subject to ongoing peer review. In this context, updated paper versions may be made available at irregular intervals. It may also be useful to contact the author(s) directly about the results before referring to or citing a paper.
