How external linkages and informal institutions enable green innovation in EU regions

Benjamin Cornejo Costas, Nicola Cortinovis and Andrea Morrison

No 2503, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between migrant inventors, informal institutions and the development of green technologies in European regions. We argue that migrant inventors act as an unlocking mechanism that transfers external knowledge to host regions, and that informal institutions (i.e. social capital, migrant acceptance) mediate this effect. The work is based on an original dataset of migrant inventors covering 271 NUTS2 regions in the 27 EU countries, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway. The analysis shows that migrant inventors help their host regions to diversify into green technologies. The regions with the highest levels of both measures of social capital show a higher propensity of migrant inventors to act knowledge brokers. Conversely, regions with lower levels of migrant acceptance and social capital do not seem to contribute to this effect.

Keywords: lock-in; international migration; green innovation; social capital; acceptance; regional diversification; EU regions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J61 O30 Q55 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-02, Revised 2025-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-eec, nep-ene, nep-env, nep-eur, nep-geo, nep-ino, nep-int, nep-lab, nep-mig, nep-sbm, nep-soc and nep-tid
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