This study includes the design and testing of a model of research inquiry with the purpose of exploring how agency as well as learning can be increased among industrial companies within the context of competence provision.  We apply the model to an interactive, collaborative research project including researchers, industrial firms and trade organizations and report on the design of the model as well as the evaluation of its ability to increase agency and generate learning. By applying and integrating theories of agency and effectuation logic within the framework of work-integrated learning, our study contributes to the call for developing the micro-practices of interactive research methods and deepen the knowledge on the role of agency, joint learning, and reflection for organizational learning as key prerequisites to sustainable changes in how competence provision challenges is approached by organizations.

This paper contributes to the literature on innovation in agri-food sectors. It presents a quantitative analysis of how innovation and innovation capacities differ between agricultural firms and firms in other sectors. With unique survey data on Swedish firms, we show that one-third of the firms in the agriculture sector are innovation creators. Moreover, incremental innovations in the form of firm-level technology adoption are not more prevalent in agriculture than in other sectors. These results indicate that agriculture does not appear as a special case concerning innovation output, besides their higher incidence of process innovations. The peculiarity of the sector rather seems to be related to firm-level innovation capacities. Our results suggest that agriculture is different in how they source relevant knowledge, which is a finding that could question the design of innovation support policies that emphasize collaborative research. Our findings rather point to a need of strengthening in-house knowledge capacities in agricultural firms. That would improve their capacity to participate in and benefit from collaborations with partners operating at higher levels in the knowledge system. 

Rural-urban migration theory suggests that one gains economically by moving from a rural to an urban area. The popular juxtaposing notion is: "If you stay, you lose." But given the rapid increase in housing costs in bigger cities, are losses from staying in rural areas still necessarily the rule? If so, how big is the economic loss for those who stay in rural regions? Using Swedish micro data, we focus on the income effects of rural-urban migration among young individuals. We find that staying in a rural region is negatively related to an individual's income levels, but the loss is mostly insignificant. After controlling for housing costs, it is even beneficial for many people to stay in their rural areas, except for the most highly educated individuals who can benefit by moving to an urban area.

In this paper we use survey and register data combined to examine how the view of the capital city among those living in other regions relates to geographic factors and the development of the home region. Our findings indicate that individuals who perceive the development of their own region as “less advantageous” are prone to say that Stockholm has a negative effect on their own area as well as on Sweden overall. These individuals tend to live in regions with negative migration, farther away from the capital region, and tend to have lower trust for e.g., politicians and scientists.

Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga kompetensutbudet i Skaraborg och visa hur utbud av olika typer av arbetskraft har utvecklats på kort och lång sikt. I studien jämförs utvecklingen i Skaraborg med utvecklingen i arbetsmarknader i övriga Sverige, i syfte att klargöra om utvecklingen i Skaraborg särskiljer sig på något sätt. Studien syftar också till att identifiera om det finns yrken eller branscher där det inomregionala kompetensutbudet är otillräckligt för att svara mot regionens behov. Detta görs dels genom att undersöka mönster för arbetspendling, både inom regionen och från andra regioner, dels genom att undersöka hur väl arbetstagares utbildning matchar det yrke som arbetstagaren utför. Målet är att dessa analyser sammantaget ska ge en nyanserad bild av kompetensutbudet i Skaraborg och peka på områden där kompetenstillgången i regionen riskerar att hämma näringslivets utveckling. På så vis ämnar denna studie att komplettera tidigare studier kring kompetensbehov för att ge en mer sammansatt bild av både utbud och efterfrågan på kompetens i Skaraborg.

This study estimates the effects of the one cow policy on per capita consumption and the value of per hectare crop production in Rwanda using a random sample of households observed twice (2010 and 2014). A model that accounts for heterogeneity across households and the selection bias and placement effect associated with the policy is estimated. Findings show that receiving a cow has a positive effect on crop production indicating that the cattle has enabled households to become more productive on the farm. Results point to the importance of household's knowledge and experience of rearing livestock for the outcome of receiving a cow.

Today we can observe an increasing spatial divide as some large urban regions and many more medium-sized and small regions face growing problems such as decreasing labour demand, increasing unemployment and an ageing population. In view of these trends, this book offers a better understanding of the general characteristics and specific drivers of the geographies of growth. It shows how these may vary in different spatial contexts, how hurdles and barriers to growth in different types of regions can be dealt with, how and to what extent resources in different areas can develop and how the potential of these resources to stimulate growth can be realized. This book presents a collection of chapters, divided into four main parts, that together deal with these issues. The expert contributions provide numerous different perspectives on a new regional divide as well as exploring the inter-regional accessibility to human capital and its effects on productivity on both sides of the border. The book also investigates the speed of convergence and the fact that, when incorporating structural change, it is often quicker at the regional level compared to both the country and industry level. Other topics covered include institutional foundations and their influence on local social acceptance of entrepreneurship, the role of global value chains on bilateral trade and the determinants of cross-border innovation cooperation focusing on partner selection and location. Students, researchers and scholars will find this an important resource that fills numerous knowledge gaps and opens new avenues for research. It will also appeal to consultants, practitioners and planners at the international, regional and local level. Today we can observe an increasing spatial divide as some large urban regions and many more medium-sized and small regions face growing problems such as decreasing labour demand, increasing unemployment and an ageing population. In view of these trends, this book offers a better understanding of the general characteristics and specific drivers of the geographies of growth. It shows how these may vary in different spatial contexts, how hurdles and barriers to growth in different types of regions can be dealt with, how and to what extent resources in different areas can develop and how the potential of these resources to stimulate growth can be realized. This book presents a collection of chapters, divided into four main parts, that together deal with these issues. The expert contributions provide numerous different perspectives on a new regional divide as well as exploring the inter-regional accessibility to human capital and its effects on productivity on both sides of the border. The book also investigates the speed of convergence and the fact that, when incorporating structural change, it is often quicker at the regional level compared to both the country and industry level. Other topics covered include institutional foundations and their influence on local social acceptance of entrepreneurship, the role of global value chains on bilateral trade and the determinants of cross-border innovation cooperation focusing on partner selection and location. Students, researchers and scholars will find this an important resource that fills numerous knowledge gaps and opens new avenues for research. It will also appeal to consultants, practitioners and planners at the international, regional and local level.