Unpackaging universities’ local economic impact through a systematic literature review: between fragmentation and unclear boundaries

M Capriolo, G Barbato and M Turri

Science and Public Policy, 2025, vol. 52, issue 5, 666-691

Abstract: This paper systematizes the literature on universities’ local economic impact, using the ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’ (PRISMA) approach and bibliometric techniques to identify key aspects underlying this concept. Although the analysis identifies three essential dimensions of economic impact—Technology transfer, Human capital, and Local development—it also reveals the literature’s struggle to examine their interrelationships. Furthermore, while most scholars define local impact as regional, the literature finds also challenging to operationally define its boundaries. This paper contributes to this debate by emphasizing the importance of understanding universities’ economic impact as an interplay among various dimensions at multiple interrelated levels. It is crucial to adopt a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to formulate policies that leverage universities’ full potential as drivers of local economic growth. Additionally, we must acknowledge that local impacts often permeate multiple levels in an increasingly interconnected world, requiring a balance with the policy-driven need for clear and definite boundaries.

Keywords: Economic impact; Local development; Human capital; Technology transfer; Innovation; Higher education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/scipol/scaf007 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:scippl:v:52:y:2025:i:5:p:666-691.

Access Statistics for this article

Science and Public Policy is currently edited by Nicoletta Corrocher, Jeong-Dong Lee, Mireille Matt and Nicholas Vonortas

More articles in Science and Public Policy from Oxford University Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().