This thesis is primarily based on a case study on how the Internet affects the advertising industry in Oslo, Norway, and on how the digitization of advertising adds to our understanding of the geography of innovation and urban and regional development. The study argues that the Internet fundamentally changes and challenges the advertising industry, and that advertising merges into market communication and even user experience and product development. The interactive nature of the Internet and its parallel social and commercial worlds contribute to transcend the role of a traditional medium and to coalescence between production and consumption. Despite the fact that those involved in online and traditional advertising are located close to each other in Oslo, the extent of collective learning, knowledge externalities and innovation has been scarce. The study shows that the creative destruction of this industrial sector is ignited by actors outside the traditional advertising industry. Due to path dependency along one-way mass communication media incumbents within the advertising industry have left room for new actors, such as web agencies and technology consultants, to explore and take market share in online market communication services. The reconfiguration of market communication is regarded as the result of an industry mutation across advertising and ICT, and creates a need for bridging skills and competencies across creative, strategic and interactive domains. The implications of such an industry mutation across diverse sectors are used to discuss the evolutionary potential of the related variety perspective. The study argues that localized industrial change may be conceptualised in terms of a cyclical relationship between externalities from localisation economies and urbanisation economies respectively. The implications of the findings from the case study are in this way used to discuss more general drivers of urban and regional development. / Creativity and Innovation in the Cultural Industries

This thesis deals with questions concerning spatial agglomeration of economic activities. The object of study is the Internet industry in central Stockholm. Through the use of statistical data and an interview study the Internet industry is described, measured, and analyzed through theories concerning agglomerations, social network relations, and knowledge and information flows. These theories are interpreted through five agglomeration themes related to the role of customers, subcontractors and partners, competitors, financing, and labour market, respec-tively. The research has recognized the importance of proximity to create and maintain social networks, and to spread information and knowledge, especially tacit knowledge. The thesis also shows how social networks, and information and knowledge flows have an essential role in all the five agglomeration themes that are analyzed. The results of this analysis show that the proximity to customers is the most important factor for the location of the Internet indus-try. Also, the local labour market and access to suppliers and partners are important factors. Competitors and rivals have a role to play when it comes to the diffusion of knowledge and information, although its importance as a location factor is hard to estimate. The analysis of the firms’ financing demonstrate that this factor hardly has been of crucial importance for the location of the Internet industry, but access to (venture) capital might have been of indirect importance for the location and the pace of the development of the Internet industry.

No description available.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a influência das economias de aglomeração na variação do emprego no setor de calçados no Rio Grande do Sul no período 1998 – 2012. Para tanto utiliza como indicadores de externalidades locais a especialização, diversificação, competição, tamanho médio das firmas e densidade do emprego local. A dimensão geográfica da análise segue a delimitação do arranjo produtivo de calçados identificado pela FEE e inclui os COREDEs Vale do Rio dos Sinos e Paranhana – Encosta da Serra além dos municípios de Picada Café e Nova Petrópolis. O estudo utiliza dados de emprego formal, tamanho e número de empresas da RAIS e área territorial do IBGE. As estimações utilizam dados em painel dinâmico, de efeitos fixos a partir do mecanismo de correção de erros. Os resultados indicam que a especialização afeta negativamente a variação do crescimento do emprego absoluto no curto prazo, porém não é significativa a longo prazo. A diversificação tem relação positiva com o crescimento do emprego ao longo do tempo. O saldo dos indicadores de competição e tamanho médio das firmas aponta que o monopólio local é mais favorável ao setor, ainda que o resultado da competição a longo prazo seja não significativo. Quanto a densidade do emprego, esta recomenda que os fatores locacionais, invés dos setoriais, geram importantes benefícios ao setor. / This study aims to investigate the influence of agglomeration economies on the variation of the employment in the footwear sector of the state of Rio Grande do Sul during the period 1998-2012. To accomplish that goal we use as local externalities indicators the levels of specialization, diversification, competitiveness, and average size of the firms as well as the local employment density. The geographic dimension of analysis follows the delimitation of the footwear cluster identified by the Economics and Statistics Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul (FEE) which includes these regions: COREDE Vale do Rio dos Sinos, COREDE Paranhanda - Enconsta da Serra and also the municipalities named Picada Café and Nova Petrópolis. This study draws on data of formal employment, size and number of enterprises that are listed in the federal administrative database named RAIS. The territorial area is defined as IBGE indicates. The estimations are performed based on a dynamic panel of fixed effects using errors correction mechanism. The results indicate that specialization affects in a negative way the growth rate of absolute employment in the short run, although this evidence is not significant in the long run. The diversification is positively related to the employment growth over time. The balance of the competitiveness indicators and average size of the enterprises points out that the local monopoly benefit the sector, although the competitiveness results has not been found significant in the long run. Regarding the employment density, it is indicated that locational factors, instead of the sector’s ones, generate important benefits to the sector.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a influência das economias de aglomeração na variação do emprego no setor de calçados no Rio Grande do Sul no período 1998 – 2012. Para tanto utiliza como indicadores de externalidades locais a especialização, diversificação, competição, tamanho médio das firmas e densidade do emprego local. A dimensão geográfica da análise segue a delimitação do arranjo produtivo de calçados identificado pela FEE e inclui os COREDEs Vale do Rio dos Sinos e Paranhana – Encosta da Serra além dos municípios de Picada Café e Nova Petrópolis. O estudo utiliza dados de emprego formal, tamanho e número de empresas da RAIS e área territorial do IBGE. As estimações utilizam dados em painel dinâmico, de efeitos fixos a partir do mecanismo de correção de erros. Os resultados indicam que a especialização afeta negativamente a variação do crescimento do emprego absoluto no curto prazo, porém não é significativa a longo prazo. A diversificação tem relação positiva com o crescimento do emprego ao longo do tempo. O saldo dos indicadores de competição e tamanho médio das firmas aponta que o monopólio local é mais favorável ao setor, ainda que o resultado da competição a longo prazo seja não significativo. Quanto a densidade do emprego, esta recomenda que os fatores locacionais, invés dos setoriais, geram importantes benefícios ao setor. / This study aims to investigate the influence of agglomeration economies on the variation of the employment in the footwear sector of the state of Rio Grande do Sul during the period 1998-2012. To accomplish that goal we use as local externalities indicators the levels of specialization, diversification, competitiveness, and average size of the firms as well as the local employment density. The geographic dimension of analysis follows the delimitation of the footwear cluster identified by the Economics and Statistics Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul (FEE) which includes these regions: COREDE Vale do Rio dos Sinos, COREDE Paranhanda - Enconsta da Serra and also the municipalities named Picada Café and Nova Petrópolis. This study draws on data of formal employment, size and number of enterprises that are listed in the federal administrative database named RAIS. The territorial area is defined as IBGE indicates. The estimations are performed based on a dynamic panel of fixed effects using errors correction mechanism. The results indicate that specialization affects in a negative way the growth rate of absolute employment in the short run, although this evidence is not significant in the long run. The diversification is positively related to the employment growth over time. The balance of the competitiveness indicators and average size of the enterprises points out that the local monopoly benefit the sector, although the competitiveness results has not been found significant in the long run. Regarding the employment density, it is indicated that locational factors, instead of the sector’s ones, generate important benefits to the sector.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a influência das economias de aglomeração na variação do emprego no setor de calçados no Rio Grande do Sul no período 1998 – 2012. Para tanto utiliza como indicadores de externalidades locais a especialização, diversificação, competição, tamanho médio das firmas e densidade do emprego local. A dimensão geográfica da análise segue a delimitação do arranjo produtivo de calçados identificado pela FEE e inclui os COREDEs Vale do Rio dos Sinos e Paranhana – Encosta da Serra além dos municípios de Picada Café e Nova Petrópolis. O estudo utiliza dados de emprego formal, tamanho e número de empresas da RAIS e área territorial do IBGE. As estimações utilizam dados em painel dinâmico, de efeitos fixos a partir do mecanismo de correção de erros. Os resultados indicam que a especialização afeta negativamente a variação do crescimento do emprego absoluto no curto prazo, porém não é significativa a longo prazo. A diversificação tem relação positiva com o crescimento do emprego ao longo do tempo. O saldo dos indicadores de competição e tamanho médio das firmas aponta que o monopólio local é mais favorável ao setor, ainda que o resultado da competição a longo prazo seja não significativo. Quanto a densidade do emprego, esta recomenda que os fatores locacionais, invés dos setoriais, geram importantes benefícios ao setor. / This study aims to investigate the influence of agglomeration economies on the variation of the employment in the footwear sector of the state of Rio Grande do Sul during the period 1998-2012. To accomplish that goal we use as local externalities indicators the levels of specialization, diversification, competitiveness, and average size of the firms as well as the local employment density. The geographic dimension of analysis follows the delimitation of the footwear cluster identified by the Economics and Statistics Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul (FEE) which includes these regions: COREDE Vale do Rio dos Sinos, COREDE Paranhanda - Enconsta da Serra and also the municipalities named Picada Café and Nova Petrópolis. This study draws on data of formal employment, size and number of enterprises that are listed in the federal administrative database named RAIS. The territorial area is defined as IBGE indicates. The estimations are performed based on a dynamic panel of fixed effects using errors correction mechanism. The results indicate that specialization affects in a negative way the growth rate of absolute employment in the short run, although this evidence is not significant in the long run. The diversification is positively related to the employment growth over time. The balance of the competitiveness indicators and average size of the enterprises points out that the local monopoly benefit the sector, although the competitiveness results has not been found significant in the long run. Regarding the employment density, it is indicated that locational factors, instead of the sector’s ones, generate important benefits to the sector.

Denna studie undersöker bakomliggande faktorer till lokaliseringsbeslut när kontorssektorn väljer att etablera sig utanför stadens centrum. Vi analyserar hur företagen resonerar och vilka faktorer som påverkar deras beslut. Tidigare forskning och teori talar för att ett centralt läge är det mest optimala för kontorssektorn, då det genererar agglomerationsfördelar. Därför är kontorssektorns betalningsvilja för mark också högst i centrala lägen. På ett icke-centralt läge som Hyllie, skulle företag som är beroende av billiga transporter som tillverkningsindustrin valt att lokalisera sig. Detta då de föredrar närheten till motorvägar över de centrala platserna. Studien är avgränsad till området Hyllie, vilken är lokaliserad i utkanten av Malmö och nära infrastrukturen. Hyllie var också en ödelagd åkermark när de första kontorsföretagens gjorde beslutet om att etablera sig där. Det fanns dock visioner och en framarbetad detaljplan som kommunen skapat tillsammans med marknadens aktörer, där Percy Nilssons engagemang troligen hade en stor inverkan. Därför har kommunen och Percy ingått som respondenter i studien för att även fördjupa författarnas inblick i områdets utveckling. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ ansats där empirisk data har insamlats genom både ostrukturerade- och semistrukturerade intervjuer med ett urval av anställda inom banksektorn. De banker som ingår i studiens urval är Nordea, Sparbanken Syd och Swedbank. Det valda teoretiska materialet har byggt grunden för intervjufrågor och även för analysen. Resultaten av studien visar på att de främsta faktorerna bakom lokaliseringsbeslutet i Hyllie var att platsen ansågs vara strategisk, erbjöd en bra kollektivtrafik samt gav tillgång till de människorna som skulle röra sig i området på grund av bland annat Emporia och arenan. / This study explores the underlying factors that affect location decisions when the office sector chooses to establish outside the city center. We analyze how companies are reasoning and the factors that influence their decisions. Previous research and theory suggest businesses in the office sector prefer central location, as they generate agglomeration advantages. Therefore, the office sector’s willingness to pay for land is highest at central locations. At a non-central location like Hyllie, should companies which rely on cheap transports of goods such as the manufacturing industry choose to locate. This because of that they prefer nearness to motorways over central locations. The essay focuses on the area Hyllie, which is located outside of Malmoe and close to the infrastructure. Hyllie was also a loamy field when the first office companies made the decision to establish there. However, there were visions and a zoning plan that were prepared by the municipality along with the market actors, where Percy Nilsson's involvement probably also had a great impact. Therefore, the municipality and Percy have been included as respondents in this study to deepen the authors' insight into the development of the area. The essay is based on a qualitative approach where the empirical data has been collected through both unstructured- and semi-structured interviews with a selection of employees in the banking sector. The banks that are included in the study's selection are Nordea, Sparbanken Syd and Swedbank. The selected theoretical material has been the basis for the interview-questions and also for the analysis. The result of the study shows that the main factors behind the location decision in Hyllie are that the place is perceived as a strategic location, offers a good public transport service and provides access to people who are in the area because of Emporia and the arena for instance.

Studien undersöker de faktorer som ligger bakom spelutvecklingsföretagens val vid etablering i de centrala delarna av Malmö. Analys har gjorts på hur spelutvecklingsföretagen resonerar kring deras beslut samt vilka faktorer de grundar sin lokalisering på. Enligt tidigare studier är det vanligt att kontorssektorn lokaliserar sig centralt då företaget kan dra nytta av de agglomerationsfördelar som generellt skapas genom kluster. Vid en nyttomaximerad verksamhet blir betalningsviljan högre på dessa platser. Andra studier har däremot visat att spelutvecklingsföretag har möjligheten att placera sig utanför städerna eftersom de inte har samma karaktärsdrag som den karakteristiska kontorssektorn. Den här studien är avgränsad inom spelutvecklingsindustrin i Malmö, vilket inte inkluderar online gambling. Malmö är en välkänd spelhubb världen över och det sker många internationella rekryteringar. Staden erbjuder bra kommunikationer både regionalt men också internationellt då Köpenhamns flygplats bara ligger 20 minuter från Malmös centralstation. Det empiriska materialet är insamlat via semistrukturerade intervjuer gjorda med representanter från både Massive Entertainment och Avalanche Studios. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ ansats men också textanalys då vi granskat spelutvecklingsföretagens internethemsidor. Grunden för studien har byggts upp med hjälp av teoretiskt material. Resultatet av studien visar att spelföretag beaktar medarbetarnas närhet till arbetsplatsen som en av de viktigaste faktorerna vid placering av deras kontor. Det är viktigt att kontorsplaceringen förenklar gång- och cykelavstånd till och från de stora kommunikationspunkterna. En annan orsak till att både Massive och Avalanche etablerade sig i Malmö var att man ville vara en del i stadens gemenskap. De flesta spelutvecklingsföretagen i Malmö är beroende av varandra därför att de delar samma typ av arbetskraft, kompetens och genom närhet till varandra underlättas stora sammankomster och samarbeten. / The study examines the underlying factors behind game development companies choices when establishing in the central parts of Malmö. The analysis has been based on how game development companies reason about their decision as well as which factors they found their localisation on. According to previous studies it is common that the office sector often choose to localise centrally because the company can benefit from the agglomeration economies that are generally created through clusters. By having a utility maximized business the willingness-to-pay increases in these places. However previous studies have shown that game development companies have the opportunity to locate outside of the cities since they do not have the same characteristics as the common office sector.This study is limited to the game development industry in Malmo, which do not include online gambling. Malmo is a well-known gaming hub worldwide and there is frequent international recruitment. The city offers good communications both regionally and internationally, since Copenhagen Airport is only 20 minutes away from Malmo centralstation.The empirical material is gathered through semi-structured interviews made with representatives from both Massive Entertainment and Avalanche Studios. The study is founded on a qualitative approach but also text analysis by examining game development companies websites. The foundation of the study has been based on theoretical material. The results of the study show that the game development companies take their employees commute into consideration as one of the most important factors for the placement of their office. It is of importance that the office placement simplifies with easy access to and from the workplace by foot and cycling as well as the main commuting routes. Another reason why both Massive and Avalanche established themselves in Malmo was because they wanted to be part of the city's community. Most game development companies in Malmo are dependent on each other because they are sharing the same type of workforce and competence, and through proximity to each other, large gatherings and collaborations are facilitated.

Several huge transport infrastructure projects have been implemented in the Scania region, Sweden, during the last two decades and more are on the way. The reasoning for constructions such projects usually include direct benefits on commuting cost savings and indirect impacts on agglomeration economies and, therefore, productivity in the region. While there is a consensus between researchers about the agglomeration impact on productivity, the effect of different types of transport infrastructure resulted in the heterogeneous estimates, varying both by sign and magnitude and  strongly depending on context. The aim of this thesis is to enrich the existing discourse with the new empirical evidence from Scania and answer the questions: What effect does agglomeration economies measures have on productivity in Scania? What effect do different types of physical transport infrastructure have on productivity in Scania?  What elasticities different types of transport infrastructure have in regards to productivity? The result of the research confirms the impact of employment density, specialisation, knowledge spillovers and urban amenities on productivity in Scania which is in line with previous research. Moreover, there is a significant negative effect of road-kilometres density (-0.0365) and positive effect of bus infrastructure in the form of service provision (0.0235). Railways show positive and significant effects as well in the form of distance to railway station (0.0327), but the data for this variable and therefore estimates could be improved. The thesis ends with the discussion of the results, limitations and possible policy implications.

This thesis consists of four essays, covering four different topics. The first essay investigates the relationship between inter-firm labor mobility and regional productivity growth. Previous studies have shown that density is positively correlated with growth. I claim that it is not density in itself, but rather the attributes associated with it that drives economic growth. One such attribute is the increased possibility for labor mobility and knowledge diffusion that follows when firms and individuals locate in close proximity to each other. This hypothesis is tested using density as an instrument for labor mobility. The result shows that labor mobility increases regional growth rates. The second essay examines the relationship between agglomeration economies and relative wage costs in influencing location of multinational corporations. An inflow of firms to certain regions and industries is likely to increase demand for labor. If mobility of labor is low increased costs can be expected to deter additional inflows of firms, albeit agglomeration economies may compensate for higher wages. The empirical analysis finds that FDI has become increasingly sensitive to differences in wage costs across industrialized countries, but also that agglomeration economies related to knowledge externalities positively influences higher costs. The third essay looks at the impact of FDI on home country investments. Previous research has been inconclusive as regards the effects on domestic investments. In this article, we show that this inconclusiveness can be explained at a disaggregated level as a function of the way industries are organized. We argue that a complementary relationship can be expected to prevail in vertically integrated industries, whereas a substitutionary relationship can be expected in horizontally organized production. The empirical analysis confirms a significant difference between the two categories of industry as regards the impact of outward FDI on domestic investment. The fourth, and final, essay of this thesis analyses how increased R&D expenditures and market size influence the distribution of comparative advantage. Previous studies report ambiguous results and also refer to periods when markets were much more segmented and production factors less mobile. The empirical analysis comprises 19 OECD-countries and spans the period 1981 to 1999. It is shown how an increase in R&D-expenditures by one percentage point implies a three-percentage point increase in high-technology exports, whereas market size fails to attain significance. In addition, institutional factors influence the dynamics of comparative advantage.