eprintid: 3969
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 69
dir: disk0/00/00/39/69
datestamp: 2018-03-08 09:25:39
lastmod: 2018-03-08 09:25:39
status_changed: 2018-03-08 09:25:39
type: monograph
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Zacchia, Paolo
creators_id: paolo.zacchia@imtlucca.it
title: Benefiting Colleagues but not the City: Localized
Effects from the Relocation of Superstar Inventors
ispublished: submitted
subjects: HD
subjects: T1
subjects: T201
divisions: EIC
full_text_status: public
monograph_type: working_paper
keywords: JEL Classification Codes: J61, O31, O33, R11. 
Keywords: Geographic Spillovers, Patents, Superstar Scientists, Inventor Networks
note: Accepted for publication
abstract: In this paper I examine episodes in which superstar inventors relocate to a new city. In particular,
in order to assess whether the beneficial effects of physical proximity to a superstar have a restricted
network dimension or a wider spatial breadth (spillovers), I estimate changes in patterns of patenting
activity following these events for two different groups of inventors: the superstar’s close collaborators,
and all the other inventors in a given urban area, for both the locality where the superstar moves
to and for the one that is left behind. In the case of collaborators, I restrict the attention to patents
realized independently from the superstar. The results from the event study register a large and persistent
positive effect on the collaborators in the city of destination, as well as a simultaneous negative
trend affecting those still residing in the previous location. In the long run, these effects translate
into an increased difference between the two groups of about 0.16 patents per inventor. Conversely,
no city-wide spillover effect can be attested, offering little support to place-based policies aimed at
inducing a positive influx of top innovators in urban areas.
date: 2018
pages: 36
institution: IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca
citation:   Zacchia, Paolo  Benefiting Colleagues but not the City: Localized Effects from the Relocation of Superstar Inventors.  Working Paper       (Submitted)   
document_url: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/3969/1/Superstars_Paper.pdf