This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, uses a series of case studies to describe the role of universities in the creation of regional industry clusters.
Moretti estimates spillovers from college education by comparing wages for otherwise similar individuals who work in cities with different shares of college graduates in the labor force. He finds that a percentage point increase in the supply of college graduates raises high school drop-outs' wages by 1.9 percent, high school graduates' wages by 1.6 percent, and college graduates' wages by 0.4 percent.
The authors find that skilled cities have grown more quickly than other less-skilled cities. Skilled cities are both more economically productive and better able to adapt to change.
"Two opposing forces reshaped knowledge networks in 'rust belt' communities over the course of the 1980s and 1990s. On the one hand, large industrial companies which for generations had stood at these places' economic, social and intellectual cores attempted to reinvigorate their own innovation processes by reaching out beyond the parochial boundaries of locales in which they resided to tap into what was seen as a richer set of conversations taking place in Europe, Asia and in the coastal regions of the U.S."
From 1940 to 1990, a 10 percent increase in a metropolitan area's concentration of college-educated residents was associated with a 0.6 percent increase in subsequent employment growth. Using data on growth in wages and house values, Shapiro's model suggests that roughly two-thirds of the growth effect of human capital is due to enhanced productivity growth, the rest being caused by growth in the quality of life.
This 2002 report, a joint venture between the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and CEOs for Cities, examines the role of colleges and universities in urban and inner-city economic development and recommends a number of ways in which higher education institutions, city, community, and business leaders can build on existing and emerging partnerships. The report includes a supplemental document which delves further into two Case Studies, Columbia University and Virginia Commonwealth. View Case Studies Here
Using case studies from 12 U.S. research universities, this report documents how they establish industry research partnerships, effectively transfer technology to businesses and entrepreneurs, provide technical assistance, and develop human capital.
The author highlights how university-industry technology transfer can help regional economies grow, and how states can promote university-industry collaboration.
The author gives an overview of the university's role in the social and community development...
Richard Florida argues that universities are most valuable to their regions because they create talent -- not necessarily because they develop new license-able technologies and spin-off new companies.