Creativity over time and space

Michel Serafinelli () and Guido Tabellini
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Michel Serafinelli: University of Essex

Journal of Economic Growth, 2022, vol. 27, issue 1, No 1, 43 pages

Abstract: Abstract Creativity is often highly concentrated in time and space, and across different domains. What explains the formation and decay of clusters of creativity? We match data on notable individuals born in Europe between the eleventh and the nineteenth centuries with historical city data. The production and attraction of creative talent is associated with city institutions that protected economic and political freedoms and promoted local autonomy. Instead, indicators of local economic conditions such as city size and real wages, do not predict creative clusters. We also show that famous creatives are spatially concentrated and clustered across disciplines, that their spatial mobility has remained stable over the centuries, and that creative clusters are persistent but less than population.

Keywords: Innovation; Agglomeration; Political institutions; Immigration; Gravity; Human capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J61 O10 R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Creativity over Time and Space (2019)
Working Paper: Creativity over Time and Space (2019)
Working Paper: Creativity over Time and Space (2017)
Working Paper: Creativity over Time and Space (2017)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10887-021-09199-6

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