We examine the role of regional import flows for renewal of regional industries. The hypothesis is that imports stimulate renewal of local industries by being vehicles for technology diffusion and means by which local firms can exploit advantages of global specialisation. We find robust and positive relationships between high-quality imports and renewal of regional exports, where the latter are measured by the introduction of novel export products of local firms. Connectedness to international markets via import networks appears to be a stimulus for the renewal of regional exports. 

The returns to education have been thoroughly investigated and Sweden has shown to have a relatively low return compared to other countries in Europe. Nevertheless, few studies have combined the regional perspective with returns to education. Hence, the purpose of the paper is to analyze regional differences in their returns to higher education within natural science, engineering and medicine. We assume that individuals maximize expected utility; they will try to attain the highest expected return to education as possible. The regional sum of employment possibilities as well as unemployment shares may differ between regions. Therefore, it is plausible to believe that the regional return to education varies between locations which accounted for in the empirical part of the paper. The result shows that there are clear differences between regional classifications concerning returns to higher education. Central urban regions, except the three largest cities and ten largest universities have the highest return to education. These regions may need to compensate the individuals with a higher return. The three largest cities in Sweden have a relatively low return but have other amenities that attract individuals.

This dissertation consists of four separate papers and an introductory chapter. The four papers can be read independently of each other but are held together by concepts around embodied knowledge: knowledge embodied in products and embodied knowledge flows. Thus the papers mainly contribute to the empirical literature on firm and regional knowledge. The rapid growth of knowledge-based industries is one of the prominent features of post-industrialism and economic growth in the industrialised part of the world.

The first paper investigates the residential choice of Swedish university graduates after graduation. It also analyses what factors make them move away from their graduation region. In addition to individual characters such as age and gender, there are also regional characteristics that can either retain graduates or make them choose another residence region. The results of this paper show that large and growing regions are good at keeping their graduates but are also good at attracting graduates from other regions.  

The second paper examines what regional characteristics are preferable attributes in order to renew regional exports in the manufacturing sector with export products from other regions. The results indicate that to do so, regions need a specialised export support system and a large amount of sector-related knowledge.

The third paper deals with the issue of how industries and regions absorb new knowledge. Focusing on the role of regional high-quality import flows, the results of this paper show that imports play an important role in regional high-quality export renewal.

The fourth paper investigates how creative labour inflow affect the productivity in firms in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). Labour inflow bring new knowledge and increase firm productivity but only if the incoming knowledge is firm-related, which means that the firm can absorb this new knowledge and incorporate and add it into the existing knowledge stock.

This study examines the impact of internal and external knowledge on firm productivity in the Swedish agricultural sector. It combines theories from regional economics about the geographical aspects of knowledge with traditional theories on the role of knowledge in productivity in agriculture. The study is a firm-level analysis using an unbalanced panel between the years 2002 and 2011 in Sweden. The results show that these firms are positively affected by employees with formal education related to the sector. Higher knowledge levels have a greater impact than lower levels. External knowledge, such as localised spillovers, is also important, but the results on this factor are more ambiguous.

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.

Både den ekonomiska och demografiska utvecklingen skiljer sig mycket åt mellan olika delar av Sverige. Det finns regioner som visar stark tillväxt i befolkning, inkomster, sysselsättning och företagande. Samtidigt finns det svagare regioner där såväl befolkning, som sysselsättning och arbetsställen minskar. Generellt sett är det storstadsregionerna som står för den starkaste utvecklingen i både demografiska och ekonomiska termer. Vad gäller stads- och landsbygdsområden utanför storstäderna finns en stor variation i tillväxt under det senare decennierna.Denna rapport ger en bred översikt av utvecklingen av näringsliv och arbetsmarknader i Sveriges olika regioner. Rapporten baseras på officiell statistik, vilken presenteras och diskuteras med stöd i och referenser till relevant forskning. Syftet med rapporten är att beskriva den långsiktiga utvecklingen och dess bakomliggande orsaker, med fokus på näringslivets förändring och därtill kopplade förändringar i efterfrågan och utbud av olika typer av arbetskraft i olika typer av regioner. Målsättningen är att ge en nyanserad bild av utvecklingen av näringsliv och företagande i Sveriges olika landsbygdsområden i jämförelse med utvecklingen i städer och storstadsregioner.

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. 

This paper explores the patterns of innovation and collaboration by using unique regional survey data on more than 600 Swedish firms. The data also include the smallest firms, which have been largely neglected in the existing literature on innovations. In the context of collaboration, however, small firms are of particular interest because external interactions and joint projects can be expected to play a very central role in innovation processes in firms where internal resources are very limited. The results show that the probability of innovation is higher among collaborating firms, yet not all types of collaborations matter. Extra-regional collaborations appear as most important in promoting firm innovation, and collaboration seems to be most favourable when the partners involved have some organizational or knowledge relatedness. Small firms, in particular, seem to gain from such extra-regional linkages.

Ett hållbart samhälle bygger på att resurser används på ett effektivt sätt. En effektiv ekonomi bygger på att olika typer av verksamheter utförs på de platser där de kan utföras på ett effektivt sätt. Vissa platser har bättre förutsättningar för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd. Både teoretisk och empirisk forskning visar att produktivitet, förnyelse och tillväxt gynnas av den täthet och mångfald som finns i befolkningstäta områden. Detta gäller inte minst för kunskapsintensiva verksamheter, vilka tenderar att koncentreras till urbana miljöer. Syftet med denna studie är att ge en översikt över vilka utvecklingsvägar som finns för landsbygden i en ekonomi som i växande grad koncentreras till kunskapsintensiva verksamheter.

Denna studie belyser det faktum att landsbygden, trots urbaniseringskrafter, är en fördelaktig plats för verksamheter som är direkt beroende av fasta naturtillgångar som återfinns utanför urbana miljöer. Landsbygden är således en fördelaktig plats för att bedriva råvaruproduktion, tillverkningsindustri samt för många företag som är inriktade på exportmarknader. Även den småskaliga livsmedelsindustrin och delar av besöksnäringen drar nytta av landsbygdens specifika resurser. Det är främst inom besöksnäring, rekreation och småskalig förädling som man kan se en potential för sysselsättningstillväxt på landsbygden, eftersom stora delar av den storskaliga industriproduktionen fortgående ersätter arbetskraft med kapital och därmed visar på en svag tillväxt i sysselsättning.

Både småskalig livsmedelsförädling och besöksnäring är växande branscher i flera landsbygdskommuner, inte minst i fjällvärlden och i kustområdena. Man ser emellertid också att det finns många platser i Götalands och Svealands inland som har en stark livsmedelsproduktion (både storskalig och småskalig) och dessutom har en attraktiv miljö för friluftsliv och därtill kopplad besöksnäring.

Avgörande för möjligheterna till ekonomisk tillväxt på landsbygden är att miljön är attraktiv. Viktigt för att skapa en attraktiv miljö är att landskapet är varierat, och för detta förutsätts i många avseenden ett aktivt jordbruk. Jordbruksproduktion är nödvändig för att hålla marken öppen och bidrar till en stor artrikedom och bevarade natur- och kulturmiljöer. Att odlingslandskapet bevaras torde vara av stor vikt för landsbygdens långsiktigt positiva utveckling.

En annan förutsättning för att en plats ska visa på en långsiktigt positiv utveckling är att det finns en lokal marknad med stark köpkraft. Denna studie visar att en kommun behöver ha ett lokalt tätortscentrum med minst ca 25 000 invånare för att den förväntade befolkningsutvecklingen ska vara positiv. Närhet till grannkommuner med större tätortscentra inom avstånd som upplevs som pendlingsbara, kan kompensera avsaknaden av egen större tätort.

Avsaknad av en köpstark lokalbefolkning kan också kompenseras av en stark besöksnäring, vilken temporärt flyttar den inhemska köpkraften från storstadsregionerna till landsbygden. Ytterligare köpkraft kan också komma från utländska besökare. Det tycks finnas ett ömsesidigt positivt samband mellan besöksnäring och uppkomst av småskaliga lokala produkter i vissa delar av landet. Många sådana produkter har en direkt koppling till det lokala jordbruket, vilket påtalar jordbrukets roll för en levande landsbygd.

In smaller countries, the non-metropolitan regions are to a substantial degree linked togetherwith the metropolitan regions through various networks. The national infrastructure andtransport networks are often organised with the metropolitan region as the central hub. Thiscreates a number of dependencies between the metropolitan region and the non-metropolitanregions in a small country. In this paper we focus on the role that metropolitan regions playfor the renewal of the export base in the non-metropolitan regions in a small country. Theanalytical part can be divided into three main parts: i) the role of the Stockholm metropolitanregion for the renewal of the export base in the rest of Sweden between 1997 and 2003; ii)which non-metropolitan regions gain renewal of their export base; and iii) what factors canexplain the spatial distribution of these gains. The results show that distance has little to dowith the potential success of an export products diffused from Stockholm. Instead, regionalcharacteristics such as a large manufacturing sector, educational level, size of public and/oragricultural sector, and access to producer services have a larger influential potential.

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.

Two major challenges in Europe’s rural areas are an aging population and the diminishing share of human capital. While this pattern has been occurring for a long time, the effects are becoming acutely visible and impactful. The long-term loss of younger individuals has in many ways “drained” the labor market and the economic market power of rural areas. This is the context of our research: the locational choice of university graduates from an urban–rural perspective. Using micro data covering the entire Swedish population, we identify all university graduates from the year 2001. We analyze them with respect to whether they live in a rural or urban region before starting university and where they live after graduation at two points in time: 5 and 10 years. We use a series of multinomial logit regressions to determine what factors affect their short-term and long-term choices of location. We find that having children is one of the most influential factors for moving back home after graduation, irrespective of type of region. We find only minor differences between the two time perspectives.

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.

Metropolitan regions are advantageous location for new export products due to factors such as external economies, diversified industry environment and a large share of skilled labour. This is the main assumption of this paper. What happens to these products when the technology becomes common knowledge? Using empirical data on exports, we find that products with a high specialisation in the metropolitan region have a tendency to be successful in the non-metropolitan regions subsequent years. Also, this export product diffusion does not seem to be related to a location in the immediate proximity to the metropolitan region. Instead, the recipient regions are mainly characterised as being centrally located in its labour market region, having a high share of highly educated individuals. Features related product standardisation such as a large manufacturing sector and low labour costs cannot be distinguished as prominent features.

A random sample of households in Rwanda are used to estimate the effects of the one cow policy on consumption and crop production during 2010-2014. A first-differenced model that takes into account the selection bias and placement effect associated with the policy and heterogeneity across householdsis estimated. Findings show a positive effect of receiving a cow on crop production, indicating that fertilizers provided by the cattle has enabled households to increase their agricultural production. Findings also point to the importance of knowledge and experience of rearing livestock for the outcome on consumption to realize.

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.

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.