Intercity connectivity and urban innovation

Xiaofan Liang, Cesar Augusto Hidalgo, Pierre-Alexandre Balland, Siqi Zheng and Jianghao Wang
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Xiaofan Liang: University of Michigan [Dearborn] - University of Michigan System
Cesar Augusto Hidalgo: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Pierre-Alexandre Balland: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Siqi Zheng: MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jianghao Wang: CAAS - Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, UCAS - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] - CAS - Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing]

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Abstract: Urban outputs, from economy to innovation, are known to grow as a power of a city's population. But, since large cities tend to be central in transportation and communication networks, the effects attributed to city size may be confounded with those of intercity connectivity. Here, we map intercity networks for the world's two largest economies (the United States and China) to explore whether a city's position in the networks of communication, human mobility, and scientific collaboration explains variance in a city's patenting activity that is unaccounted for by its population. We find evidence that models incorporating intercity connectivity outperform population-based models and exhibit stronger predictive power for patenting activity, particularly for technologies of more recent vintage (which we expect to be more complex or sophisticated). The effects of intercity connectivity are more robust in China, even after controlling for population, GDP, and education, but not in the United States once adjusted for GDP and education. This divergence suggests distinct urban network dynamics driving innovation in these regions. In China, models with social media and mobility networks explain more heterogeneity in the scaling of innovation, whereas in the United States, scientific collaboration plays a more significant role. These findings support the significance of a city's position within the intercity network in shaping its success in innovative activities.

Keywords: Innovation; Intercity networks; Connectivity; Scaling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-04
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Published in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 2024, 109, pp.102092. ⟨10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102092⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04935705

DOI: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102092

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