The Roles of Geographic Distance and Technological Complexity in U.S. Interregional Co-patenting Over Almost Two Centuries

Milad Abbasiharofteh, Tom Broekel () and Lars Mewes

No 2414, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This paper examines how geographical proximity affected interregional co-patenting links in various technologies in the USA from 1836 to 2010. We classify technologies by their complexity and test whether that moderates the impact of distance on collaboration. Contrary to the ‘death of distance’ hypothesis, distance still matters for knowledge creation and exchange. Moreover, we show that the role of complexity has changed over time. However, this pattern reversed by the late 20th century, with collaborations in complex technologies becoming more resilient to distance than those in simpler technologies. However, this pattern reversed by the late 20th century, with collaborations in complex technologies becoming more resilient to distance than those in simpler technologies.

Keywords: network evolution; interregional collaboration; geographical proximity; technological complexity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L14 N70 O33 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-05, Revised 2024-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-his, nep-ino, nep-sbm, nep-tid and nep-ure
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Journal Article: The role of geographic distance and technological complexity in U.S. interregional co-patenting over almost two centuries (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:2414

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