International PhD course on Economic Geography
Main theme of the course 2014:
Geography of knowledge, networks and transitions
Place
Utrecht University
Utrecht
Period
16 September 13.00 pm – 19 September 19.00 pm
11 November 13.00 pm –14 November 18.00 pm
Local organizer:
Ron Boschma (Lund University/Utrecht University)
Co-organizers:
Bjorn Asheim (Lund University/Stavanger University)
Anders Malmberg (Uppsala University)
Guest lecturers:
Yuko Aoyama (Clark University)
Bjorn Asheim (Lund University/Stavanger University)
Pierre-Alex Balland (Utrecht University/Lund University)
Lars Coenen (Lund University/NIFU)
Koen Frenken (Utrecht University/Lund University)
Simona Iammarino (LSE)
Anders Malmberg (Uppsala University)
Andrea Morrison (Utrecht University)
Andrés Rodriguez-Pose (LSE)
Simone Strambach (Marburg University)
Bernard Truffer (EAWAG, Utrecht University)
Francesco Quatraro (University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis)
Content of course:
The course aims to provide an introduction to contemporary research perspectives and
approaches in economic geography. The core questions of this discipline – related to the role
of place and space in processes of economic development – have in recent years attracted
interest not just from geographers but also from economists and other social scientists. This
course will debate recent theoretical developments (with special attention to evolutionary and
institutional economic geography), and will discuss recent advancements in methodology and
empirical analysis in economic geography.
A key theme is the study of the geography of knowledge, networks and transitions. There is
debate whether geographical proximity is a necessary and a sufficient condition for inter-firm
knowledge transfer and innovation. Related to that, there is an increasing awareness that
(different types of) networks enhance knowledge diffusion and innovation. The study of
networks is a key topic in economic geography because it deals with the fundamental
questions whether places or networks, and local or global networks matter for innovation. In
addition, new tools in social network analysis have become available to analyse the role of
(local) networks in regional development. Social network analysis has provided new insights
to the cluster literature. Moreover, the spatial configuration of networks also change over
time. What drives network dynamics is an emerging topic in economic geography. And, there
is an expanding literature on the geography of transition which attracts a lot of attention.
This course takes up the following questions with respect to the main theme: to what extent
need firms to be proximate in order to enhance innovation? What kinds of knowledge need to
be recombined to enhance regional development? What kinds of network configurations are
conducive to regional innovation? Who matters in networks of innovation? And how do
networks of innovation evolve over time? How do regions diversify over time? Which types
of agents induce structural change in regions? What is the role of multinationals in regional
development? How do institutions affect the development of new growth paths? What kind of
regional policy is needed to enhance regional innovation? Which regional features favour the
transition towards more sustainable development? And what kinds of (institutional,
evolutionary) theories are needed to accommodate these questions?
It is these questions what makes economic geography such an exciting discipline. Currently,
many social scientists besides economic geographers are working on these topics, making it a
cross-disciplinary endeavour. It is fair to say that many theoretical, conceptual and empirical
issues still remain to be solved. Leading experts that are currently working on these research
frontiers will take up these challenges, and discuss the latest insights. Network analysis will
take a prominent part. A computer practicum will be organized in which students will learn to
use and apply social and dynamic network analysis. And students learn how to analyze
transitions towards sustainable development. PhD students will acquire the latest knowledge
concerning these theoretical, methodological and empirical issues.
The organizers will participate actively in the course. Leading experts will present the latest
developments with respect to the geography of knowledge, networks and transitions, and
provide comments on the PhD projects and feedback on the paper that students have to write.
Each PhD student will get 45 minutes to present and discuss his/her PhD project (20 minutes
presentation, 25 minutes discussion). A senior researcher and a PhD student will act as
discussants for each PhD project.
Each PhD student has to select a topic among the ones that are addressed in the September
meeting and write a paper on that topic (max. 4,000 words). This paper has to be submitted to
the local organizer a week before the November meeting. During the November meeting, the
student will get feedback from a senior researcher and receive a grade, if sufficient. The best
paper will win an award.
Program
Tuesday 16 September
Room: Van Unnik 220
13.00 welcome by Ron Boschma
13.15 – 15.00 Ron Boschma (Lund University/Utrecht University)
Evolutionary economic geography: relatedness and diversification
15.15-16.00 Zoltan Elekes
Regional industrial evolution in Hungarian regions


senior discussant: Ron Boschma
junior discussant: Rodrigo Troncoso
16.15-17.00 Emilie Hane-Weijman
How do regional economies respond to crises? The geography of job creation and destruction
in Sweden (1990-2010)


senior discussant: Ron Boschma
junior discussant: Sandor Juhasz
17.15-18.00 Su-Hyun Berg
Local buzz and global pipelines from an evolutionary perspective: The case of the film and
TV industry clusters in Sweden and South Korea


senior discussant: Anders Malmberg
junior discussant: Lucia Gomez
18.15-19.00 Tony Habersetzer
Entrepreneurial heritage in the periphery: the inheritance of business experience and its role
for the long-term evolution of the manufacturing industry in Swiss peripheral regions


senior discussant: Anders Malmberg
junior discussant: Benjamin Klement
Wednesday 17 September
Room: Academiegebouw (Belle van Zuylen zaal)
9.00 – 10.45 Anders Malmberg (Uppsala University)
Localized learning, buzz and pipelines: a knowledge-based theory of spatial clustering
Room: Ruppert B
11.15 – 12.00 Teresa Farinha Fernandes


senior discussant: Anders Malmberg
junior discussant: Alexander Wong
12.15 – 13.00 Niccolo Innocenti


senior discussant: Anders Malmberg
junior discussant: Delphine Guex
13.00-13.45 lunch
13.45 - 15.30 Francesco Quatraro (University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis)
Evolution of regional knowledge bases
15.45 - 16.30 Nicola Cortinovis
Related variety and regional economic growth in Europe: a dynamic perspective


senior discussant: Francesco Quatraro
junior discussant: Kalle Emil Holst Hansen
16.30 - 17.15 Dario Diodato
The impact of return migration on knowledge diffusion


senior discussant: Francesco Quatraro
junior discussant: Lucinda David
17.15 - 18.00 Sergio Petralia
Understanding Countries' Patterns of Technological Development


senior discussant: Francesco Quatraro
junior discussant: Edoardo Ferrucci
Thursday 18 September
Room: Universiteitsmuseum, De Grote Vergaderzaal
9.00 – 11.00 Simona Iammarino (LSE)
MNEs, innovation and geography
11.15 – 12.00 Swati Ravi
'Combatting the Innovation Crisis': An Understanding from the Large Pharma


senior discussant: Simona Iammarino
junior discussant: Niccolo Innocenti
12.15 – 13.00 Lucia Gomez
TNC`s in the Global South: Reshaping the Global Investment Network.


senior discussant: Simona Iammarino
junior discussant: Alan Moore
13.00-14.00 lunch
14.00 – 16.00 Bjorn Asheim (Lund University/Stavanger University)
Knowledge bases, regional innovation systems and constructing regional advantage
16.15 – 17.00 Janos Gyurkovics
The role of universities in the knowledge-based economic development of transition
economies: opportunities of Szeged


senior discussant: Bjorn Asheim
junior discussant: Anke Engelhardt
17.15 – 18.00 Kalle Emil Holst Hansen
Manufacturing Firms in Small Towns: Low-Tech Competitiveness and Strategic Actions


senior discussant: Bjorn Asheim
junior discussant: Emilie Hane-Weijman
18.15 – 19.00 Evans Korang Adjei
Learning and plant performance: On the effects of Internal Family Network


senior discussant: Bjorn Asheim
junior discussant: Lorena Rivera Leon
Friday 19 September
Room: Booth zaal, Library
9.00 – 11.00 Bernhard Truffer (EAWAG, Utrecht University)
Geography of Transitions 1: addressing the global dimension
11.00 – 11.45 Bianca Cavicchi
Emilia model and innovation in bioenergy diffusion


senior discussant: Bernhard Truffer
junior discussant: Berenice Jung-Preller
11.45 – 12.30 Andrea Simone
Assessing regional innovation capability using data on eco-patents


senior discussant: Bernhard Truffer
junior discussant: Toon Meelen
Room: Van Unnik 201
13.00-14.00 lunch
14.00 – 15.45 Andrés Rodriguez-Pose (LSE)
Institutions and regional development in Europe
16.00 – 16.45 Lucinda David


senior discussant: Andrés Rodriguez-Pose
junior discussant: Dario Diodato
16.45 – 17.30 Emil Evenhuis
Governance and Policy of Adaptation and Resilience in Old Industrial Regions


senior discussant: Andrés Rodriguez-Pose
junior discussant: Annelies van Uden
17.30 – 18.15 Anke Engelhardt
The Role of Regional Institutions in Evolutionary Economic Geography - The Transformation
Process of Old Industrial Regions in Europe


senior discussant: Ron Boschma
junior discussant: Igor Etxabe Iruretagoiena
Tuesday 11 November
Room: Van Unnik 312
13.00 welcome by Ron Boschma
13.15 – 15.00 Koen Frenken (Utrecht University/Lund University)
Institutions and Evolutionary Economic Geography
15.00 – 15.45 Edoardo Ferrucci
Searching for diaspora effects in knowledge flows: a community detection approach


senior discussant: Koen Frenken
junior discussant: Evans Korang Adjei
15.45 - 16.30 Lorena Rivera Leon
Formation and persistence of research communities in Middle Income Countries


senior discussant: Koen Frenken
junior discussant: Sergio Petralia
16.30 – 17.15 Rodrigo Troncoso
Emergence and path creation in the turbot aquaculture industry of Galicia-Spain


senior discussant: Koen Frenken
junior discussant: Tony Habersetzer
17.30 – 18.15 Benjamin Klement
The interplay of cumulative and combinatorial knowledge dynamics: Microfoundations for
regional resilience?"


senior discussant: Bjorn Asheim
junior discussant: Nicola Cortinovis
18.15 – 19.00 Igor Etxabe Iruretagoiena
Social Capital, Cluster-Associations and Regional Competitiveness. The Basque Country case


senior discussant: Bjorn Asheim
junior discussant: Emil Evenhuis
Wednesday 12 November
Room: Academiegebouw (Kanunikkenzaal)
9.00 - 11.00 Simone Strambach (Marburg University)
Micro-dynamics of knowledge, path plasticity and change of institutions
11.15 – 12.00 Alan Moore


senior discussant: Simone Strambach
junior discussant: Su-Hyun Berg
12.15 – 13.00 Delphine Guex
The growth and preservation of territorial value: economic development by staging


senior discussant: Simone Strambach
junior discussant: Janos Gyurkovics
13.00 - 14.00 lunch
Rooms: Van Unnik (tba)
14.00 – 17.30 feedback on papers by international researchers (3 parallel sessions)
Thursday 13 November
Room: Ruppert B
9.00 – 11.00 Lars Coenen (Lund University/NIFU)
Geography of Transitions 2: addressing local dimensions
11.15 - 12.00 Toon Meelen


senior discussant: Lars Coenen
junior discussant: Bianca Cavicchi
12.15 – 13.00 Berenice Jung-Preller
The discursive dimension of sustainable building transitions


senior discussant: Lars Coenen
junior discussant: Andrea Simone
Room: Buys Ballot building, room 001
13.00-14.00 lunch
14.00-16.00 Yuko Aoyama (Clark University)
R&D alliances between MNE’s and NGO’s in India
16.15 - 17.00 Alexander Wong
Organizational Learning in International Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) in
Asia


senior discussant: Yuko Aoyama
junior discussant: Swati Ravi
17.15 - 18.00 Annelies van Uden
Innovation in Developing Countries: Explaining Heterogeneity between Regions and Firms


senior discussant: Yuko Aoyama
junior discussant: Zoltan Elekes
18.15 - 19.00 Sandor Juhasz
The role of local networks in regional development


senior discussant: Yuko Aoyama
junior discussant: Teresa Farinha Fernandes
19.00 announcement of the best paper award
Friday 14 November
Room: Ruppert 116
9.00 – 11.00 Andrea Morrison (Utrecht University)
Social network analysis
11.15-13.00 Pierre-Alex Balland (Utrecht University/Lund University)
Network dynamics and economic geography
13.00-14.00 lunch
Room: Universiteitsmuseum
14.00-18.00 Andrea Morrison and Pierre-Alex Balland (Utrecht University)
Network analysis
Computer Practicum
Reference List
Bjorn Asheim
Asheim, B. T. and Gertler, M. (2005): The Geography of Innovation: Regional Innovation
Systems, in Fagerberg, J., Mowery, D., and Nelson, R. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of
Innovation. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005, 291-317.
Asheim, B. T., Moodysson, J. and Tödtling, F. (2011): Constructing Regional Advantage:
Towards State-of-the-Art Regional Innovation System Policies in Europe? European
Planning Studies, 19, 7, 1133-1139.
Asheim, B. T., Lawton Smith, H. and Oughton, C. (2011): Regional Innovation Systems:
Theory, Empirics and Policy. Special issue of Regional Studies, 45,7, 875-891.
Martin, R. and J. Moodysson (2013): Comparing Knowledge Bases: On the Geography and
Organisation of Knowledge Sourcing in the Regional Innovation System of Scania, Sweden.
European Urban and Regional Studies, 20, 2, 170-187.
Pierre-Alex Balland
Balland, P.A., de Vaan, M. and Boschma, R. (2013) The Dynamics of Interfirm Networks
along the Industry Life Cycle: The Case of the Global Video Games Industry 1987-2007,
Journal of Economic Geography , 13 (5): 741-765
Balland, P.A. (2012) Proximity and the Evolution of Collaboration Networks: Evidence from
Research and Development Projects within the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
Industry, Regional Studies, 46 (6): 741-756
Snijders, T. A., Van de Bunt, G. G., & Steglich, C. E. (2010) Introduction to stochastic actorbased models for network dynamics, Social networks, 32 (1): 44-60
Ron Boschma
Frenken, K., F.G. Van Oort and T. Verburg (2007), Related variety, unrelated variety and
regional economic growth, Regional Studies 41, 685-697.
Neffke, F., M. Henning and R. Boschma (2011), How do regions diversify over time?
Industry relatedness and the development of new growth paths in regions, Economic
Geography 87, 237-265
Klepper, S. (2007), Disagreements, spinoffs and the evolution of Detroit as the capital of the
U.S. automobile industry, Management Science 53 (4), 616-631
Boschma, R.A. & R. Wenting (2007), The spatial evolution of the British automobile
industry: does location matter? Industrial and Corporate Change 16 (2), 213-238
Lars Coenen
Coenen, L., Benneworth, P. Truffer, B. (2012): Toward a spatial perspective on sustainability
transitions. Research Policy Vol. 41, 968-979
Simmie, J. (2012). Path dependence and new technological path creation in the Danish wind
power industry. European Planning Studies, 20(5), 753-772.
Bulkeley, H., & Castán Broto, V. (2013). Government by experiment? Global cities and the
governing of climate change. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38(3), 361375.
Coenen, L., Moodysson, J., Westendorf, H. (forthcoming): Path renewal in old industrial
regions: possibilities and limitations for regional innovation policy. Regional Studies
Koen Frenken
Boschma, R.A., Capone, G. (2014). Institutions and Diversification: Related versus Unrelated
Diversification in a Varieties of Capitalism framework. Papers in Evolutionary Economic
Geography 14.21, http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg.html
Dewald, U., Truffer, B. (2012). The local sources of market formation: Explaining regional
growth differentials in German photovoltaic markets. European Planning Studies, 20 (3): 397420
Wenting, R., Frenken, K. (2011). Firm entry and institutional lock-in: an organizational
ecology analysis of the global fashion design industry. Industrial and Corporate Change,
20(4): 1031-1048.
Boschma, R.A., Frenken, K. (2009). Some notes on institutions in evolutionary economic
geography. Economic Geography 85(2): 151-158.
Boschma, R.A., Frenken, K. (2006). Why is economic geography not an evolutionary
science? Towards an evolutionary economic geography. Journal of Economic Geography,
6(3): 273-302.
Simona Iammarino
Crescenzi R., Gagliardi L. and Iammarino S. (2014), “Local innovation and
internationalization. Who benefits from Multinational Enterprises?”, PICK-ME Project (EU
7th FP), presented at the CIMR Workshop on Innovation and Internationalization
Iammarino S. and McCann P. (2013) Multinationals and Economic Geography. Location,
Technology, and Innovation, Edwar Elgar: to skip through, particularly chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5
and final.
Marin, A. and Bell, M. (2006) Technology Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): an
Exploration of the Active Role of MNC Subsidiaries in the Case of Argentina in the 1990s.
Journal of Development Studies, 42, 4, 678-697.
Anders Malmberg
Bathelt, H, Malmberg, A and P Maskell (2004) Clusters and Knowledge: Local Buzz, Global
Pipelines and the Process of Knowledge Creation, Progress in Human Geography, 28(1): 3156.
Malmberg, A & Maskell, P (2002) The Elusive Concept of Localization Economies –
Towards a Knowledge-based Theory of Spatial Clustering. Environment and Planning A, Vol.
34: 429-449.
Malmberg, A, & Maskell, P (2006) Localized learning revisited, Growth and Change, 37(1):
1-18.
Maskell & Malmberg (1999) Localised learning and industrial competitiveness. Cambridge
Journal of Economics Vol 23: 167-185.
Francesco Quatraro
Quatraro, F., 2014, Co-evolutionary patterns in regional knowledge bases and economic
structure: evidence from European Regions, Regional Studies, forthcoming.
Colombelli, A., Krafft, J. and Quatraro, F., 2014, The emergence of new technology-based
sectors in European regions : A proximity-based analysis of nanotechnology, Research Policy,
forthcoming.
Quatraro, F., 2010, Knowledge Coherence, Variety and Productivity Growth: Manufacturing
Evidence from Italian Regions, Research Policy, 39, 1289-1302.
Simone Strambach
STRAMBACH, SIMONE (2010): PATH DEPENDENCE AND PATH PLASTICITY. THE CO-EVOLUTION
OF INSTITUTIONS AND INNOVATION - THE GERMAN CUSTOMIZED BUSINESS SOFTWARE
INDUSTRY. IN: RON BOSCHMA UND RON MARTIN (HG.): THE HANDBOOK OF EVOLUTIONARY
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY. CHELTENHAM. NORTHAMPTON: EDWARD ELGAR, PP. 406–431.
STRAMBACH, SIMONE; KLEMENT, BENJAMIN (2012): CUMULATIVE AND COMBINATORIAL
MICRO-DYNAMICS OF KNOWLEDGE: THE ROLE OF SPACE AND PLACE IN KNOWLEDGE
INTEGRATION. IN: EUROPEAN PLANNING STUDIES 20 (11), PP. 1843–1866.
STRAMBACH, SIMONE (2008): KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICES (KIBS) AS DRIVERS
OF MULTILEVEL KNOWLEDGE DYNAMICS. IN: INT. J. SERVICES TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
10 (2/3/4), PP. 152–174.
Bernhard Truffer
Carlsson, B. (2006) Internationalization of innovation systems: A survey of the literature
Research Policy, 35 (1), pp. 56-67
Binz, C., Truffer, B. and Coenen, L. 2014. Why space matters in technological innovation
systems - The global knowledge dynamics of membrane bioreactor technology. Research
Policy 43, 138– 155.
Truffer, B., Coenen, L. 2012 Environmental innovation and sustainability transitions in
regional studies. Regional Studies. 46 (2), 1-22.
Yuko Aoyama
Parthasarathy, Balaji and Yuko Aoyama. 2006. “From Software Services to R&D Services:
Local entrepreneurship in the software industry in Bangalore, India.” Environment and
Planning A 38 No. 7 (July): 1269-1285.
Aoyama, Yuko and Balaji Parthasarathy, 2012. “Research and Development Facilities in
India” Eurasian Geography and Economics 53 No.6 (October): 713-730.
Aoyama, Yuko and Rory Horner. Collaborative Governance for Global Public Goods: A
Geographical paradigm. In review.
Map of buildings and bus stops
An interactive version of this map is available here
After arrival at Schiphol Airport, you can take a train to Utrecht Central Station. Train tickets are available from the yellow ticket machines near the platforms
at Schiphol Plaza or from the ticket offices. There is a direct train to Utrecht every 30 minutes and the journey takes about half an hour. Once in Utrecht central
station, you can take bus 12 or 28 to reach the buildings located in the campus (Van Unnik and Library). The Academiegebouw and the Universiteitsmuseum
building are located in the city center (walking distance from the train station).