Technology network structure conditions the economic resilience of regions

Gergő Tóth (), Zoltán Elekes (), Adam Whittle (), Changjun Lee () and Dieter Kogler
Additional contact information
Gergő Tóth: Agglomeration and Social Networks Lendület Research Group, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Tóth Kálmán u. 4, 1097 Budapest, Hungary and Spatial Dynamics Lab, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8, Dublin, Ireland
Zoltán Elekes: Agglomeration and Social Networks Lendület Research Group, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Tóth Kálmán u. 4, 1097 Budapest, Hungary and Centre for Regional Science at Umea University, Umea University, 901 87 Umea, Sweden
Adam Whittle: Spatial Dynamics Lab, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8, Dublin, Ireland
Changjun Lee: Spatial Dynamics Lab, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8, Dublin, Ireland andDepartment of Media and Social Informatics, Hanyang University, Ansan-si, South Korea

No 2202, CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS from Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

Abstract: This paper assesses the network robustness of the technological capability base of 269 European metropolitan areas against the potential elimination of some of their capabilities. By doing so it provides systematic evidence on how network robustness conditioned the economic resilience of these regions in the context of the 2008 economic crisis. The analysis concerns calls in the relevant literature for more in-depth analysis on the link between regional economic network structures and the resilience of regions to economic shocks. By adopting a network science approach that is novel to economic geographic inquiry, the objective is to stress-test the technological resilience of regions by utilizing information on the co-classification of CPC classes listed on European Patent Office patent documents. We find that European metropolitan areas show heterogeneous levels of technology network robustness. Further findings from regression analysis indicate that metropolitan regions with a more robust technological knowledge network structure exhibit higher levels of resilience with respect to changes in employment rates. This finding is robust to various random and targeted elimination strategies concerning the most frequently combined technological capabilities. Regions with high levels of employment in industry but with vulnerable technological capability base are particularly challenged by this aspect of regional economic resilience.

Keywords: regional economic resilience; network robustness; metropolitan regions; technology space (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C53 O30 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2022-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-geo, nep-ino, nep-net, nep-tid and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Technology Network Structure Conditions the Economic Resilience of Regions (2022)
Working Paper: Technology network structure conditions the economic resilience of regions (2020)
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