Localized Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from the Agglomeration of American R&D Labs and Patent Data

Buzard, Kristy; Carlino, Gerald A.; Hunt, Robert M.; Carr, Jake; Smith, Tony E.

Localized Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from the Agglomeration of American R&D Labs and Patent Data

FRB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 16-25

Posted: 14 Oct 2016

See all articles by Kristy Buzard

Kristy Buzard

Syracuse University - Department of Economics

Robert M. Hunt

Consumer Finance Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Tony E. Smith

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Systems Engineering

There are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2016-10-13

Abstract

Supercedes 15-03 We employ a unique data set to examine the spatial clustering of private R&D labs. Instead of using fixed spatial boundaries, we develop a new procedure for identifying the location and size of specific R&D clusters. Thus, we are better able to identify the spatial locations of clusters at various scales, such as a half mile, 1 mile, 5 miles, and more. Assigning patents and citations to these clusters, we capture the geographic extent of knowledge spillovers within them. Our tests show that the localization of knowledge spillovers, as measured via patent citations, is strongest at small spatial scales and diminishes rapidly with distance.

Keywords: spatial clustering, geographic concentration, R&D labs, localized knowledge spillovers, patent citations

JEL Classification: O31, R12

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Buzard, Kristy and Carlino, Gerald A. and Hunt, Robert M. and Carr, Jake and Smith, Tony E., Localized Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from the Agglomeration of American R&D Labs and Patent Data (2016-10-13). FRB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 16-25. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2852296