Our paper presents an empirical analysis of entrepreneurial well-being using a large-scale longitudinal household survey from the UK that tracks almost 50,000 individuals across seven waves over the period 2009–2017, as well as a number of exploratory case studies. We contribute to the existing literature by investigating how entrepreneurial well-being varies across locations along the urban-rural continuum, and across wealthy-deprived neighbourhoods. We use a Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) approach to compare the well-being outcomes of individuals who switch into self-employment from waged employment, and show that entrepreneurial well-being, in the form of job satisfaction, is significantly higher for those living in semi-urban locations, relative to those living in urban and rural locations. We argue that semi-urban locations provide an optimal combination of ease of doing business and quality of life. Our results also show that individuals in wealthy neighbourhoods who switch into self-employment experience higher job satisfaction than otherwise comparable individuals living in materially deprived neighbourhoods, although the latter experience greater levels of life satisfaction following the switch. 

We show how the type of alcohol consumed is related to the type of entrepreneurship present for economies in Europe. We differentiate between beer-, wine-, and spirit-drinking countries and distinguish between productive, unproductive, and destructive entrepreneurship. The underlying links do not emerge from drinking per se but rather the drinking habits and taste for beverage types capture deep cultural features and cultural similarities amongst the countries. Societies that prefer to drink beer are closer to each other culturally than those which prefer drinking wine or spirits. Therefore, the taste for alcohol type is merely an instrument in explaining cultural and institutional differences across entrepreneurship. Broadly speaking, beer-drinking countries are characterized by higher shares of productive entrepreneurship, wine-drinking countries with unproductive entrepreneurship, and spirit-drinking countries with destructive entrepreneurship. We discuss mechanisms in which the results are found and highlight a new research agenda, emphasizing the potential role of epigenetics. 

Crowdfunding has become an alternative source of funding for small medium enterprises (SMEs) due to inadequate or lack of finance at its start-up. There has been lot of analysis by scholars pertaining the determinants of crowdfunding success and the objective of this theory is to pinpoint the factors of a successful crowdfunding project based on the most analyzed determinants by prior researchers (technology-based projects, social media and entertainment-based projects, other projects (such as food, publishing, arts), visual features (such as pictures, comments, updates, videos,etc), as well as investors contribution. Also, to find out if the analysis of prior researchers are in line with the result of our analysis, we based our study on a sample of 1000 projects inclined on a crowdfunding platform (kickstarter) as at 2019. The econometric models used for the analysis were based on logit model, linear probability model, mean difference test and probit regression model (to serve as a check on robustness). The result of our analysis was indeed in line with prior research (Mollick, 2014; Schwienbacher et al., 2014, etc) except for technology-based projects. The outcome of our analysis depicts that the higher investors contribution, the higher the success of crowdfunding. Nevertheless, technology-based projects are less reliable and are less funded on kickstarter platform; thereby, having a low success rate on crowdfunding platforms. More funds were also made on projects relating to social media and entertainment (M&E) and other projects such as publishing, food,etc. The result of the probit regression shows a correct check on the analysis made even though, there might be slight differences in figures as compared to the result of the logit regression. The result of the probability of success rates of projects based on our four main variables of interest was 75% averagely for both logit and probit regressions performed. Start-ups (SMEs) frequently achieve a higher funding support depending on their projects at hand and this can be absolutely motivated by the presence of a high social media networks (thus, founder's link through Facebook, LinkedIn,Twitter and projects related to entertainment). Hence, from our analysis, the determinants of success of crowdfunding projects included high investors contribution, social media and entertainment projects, as well as, social media networks, project funding goal, project updates, project description and country selection of projects. Also, we found out that, project duration and visual description of projects such as images and videos do not contribute to the funding success of crowdfunding on kickstarter platform.

Comparisons among some new types of weighted mixed regression estimators for the linear regression model under the stochastic linear restrictions have been made in this paper. The mean squared error criterion is used to examine the superiority of different weighted mixed regression estimators. A Monte Carlo simulation study and real-life application are carried out to compare the performance of these estimators for different cases. Finally, we suggest the best weighted mixed regression estimator with collinear regressors.

Innovation by firms and industries requires that the individual firm can combine internal and external knowledge resources. This paper studies product innovations as they are reflected by product varieties and destination markets, combined into observations of firms’ destination-specific varieties(variety pairs). The number of varieties (identified in this way) measuresthe extensive margin of exportflows from industries in local economies, reflecting past product and market (destination) innovations made by industries in each local economy. The empirical analysis identifies for each industry and local economy (i) the intra-industry knowledge resources, (ii) the local access to the supply knowledge-intensive producer services, and (iii) the access to the supply of knowledge-intensive producer servicesoutside the local economy. Thepapercontributes to existing knowledgein several ways. First, it introduces a knowledge-supply accessibility measure to model the local innovation milieu. Second, it shows the joint contribution to product innovation from internal and external knowledge sources. The estimation results supports the hypothesis that innovations are generated in the conjunction of internal and external knowledge.

Family firms are a keystone in many countries as they provide employment opportunities and help the economy grow and prosper. As a result, family firms have been extensively studied; however, there are important aspects that still need to be better understood. One of these is the relationship between family firms and the socio-spatial context in which they act, that is, their local embeddedness. This study adds to existing research by placing family firms in their regional context and assessing whether and to what extent they are more locally embedded than their non-family counterparts. We measure local embeddedness through place tenure and distance to the local firm for key firm stakeholders. Our findings show that family firms rely greatly on more enduring and spatially proximate stakeholders and therefore show a stronger link with the socio-economic milieu in which they dwell. Relevant contributions to family business and regional studies, together with public policy implications, are discussed.

By combining arguments from regional economics and family business research, the aim of this article is to test the relationships among local export spillovers, management characteristics, and export propensity on a large sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the 2003–2015 period. We find that family-managed firms, compared to their non-family counterparts, benefit more from being located in regions with a high density of exporters. Because of their firm-specific social capital and strong embeddedness in local networks, family-managed firms are better positioned to leverage the spatially bounded flow of knowledge and information in these regions, resulting in a higher likelihood to export than non-family firms. Additionally, our results show that the knowledge spillover effect is stronger for small and low-tech family firms’ export propensity. 

Ingress: Åtgärderna för att hålla uppe efterfrågan med sänkta räntor och beredskapen att vidta finanspolitiska åtgärder är föredömliga. Men de aviserade krispaketen löser inte det som kan beskrivas som en efterfrågekollaps, skriver tre nationalekonomer och föreslår kort- och långsiktiga lösningar samt en reformkommission.

Ingress: Åtgärder som fungerade under 1990-talskrisen och finanskrisen har inte samma verkningskraft i dag. Räntekostnader bör nu sättas till noll där det är möjligt och ett tillfälligt moratorium införas vad gäller företagens amorteringar och räntor, skriver tre nationalekonomer.

This year Swedish Economic Forum Report examines industrial policy. Over the 20th century industrial policy has been used for promoting economic development in both advanced industrialized countries as well as in developing countries. However, there is no real consensus as to what industrial policy encompasses orhow effective it is for achieving economic development. In recent years, geopolitical and geoeconomic considerations have spurred a renewed interest and advocacy for the use of industrial policy.

In the report we assess this new interest for industrial policy from a Swedish and international perspective. The various chapters in the report describes experiences and impacts of conducting industrial policies in Sweden, UK, Germany, and China. The chapters address different theoretical and empirical perspectives of industrial policies.

Despite a growing interest in firm-level analyses of international trade from both theorists and empiricists, papers providing thorough analyses of firms' trading activities and their relation to firm performance are rare. The literature is dominated by stylized facts from the USA, a large country with a significant share of the world market. This chapter resolves this imbalance and presents a comprehensive analysis of Swedish firms' trade. Sweden is a small open economy with a limited domestic market. Its neighbour countries have similar traits (language, culture, formal and informal institutions) and Swedish firms presumably face low entry costs not only to the rest of Scandinavia but also the Baltic countries. Sweden thus constitutes an interesting case. The chapter makes a twofold contribution: (1) based on detailed data on Swedish firms over a sequence of periods, we present stylized facts about their engagement in international trade and contrast them to findings from other countries, the USA in particular. Our data cover information on both export and import activities across products and markets for each and every firm, such that we can provide a complete picture of the firms' international trading activities and their variation across products and markets; (2) we extend previous analyses by examining the elasticity of productivity with respect to both export and import activities, respectively. Moreover, we perform static panel estimations (ordinary fixed effects) and dynamic estimations using the Arellano-Bond estimation procedure. We find evidence of both 'learning by exporting' and 'learning by importing', the former being stronger than the latter. Our findings on 'learning by importing' are consistent with previous research pointing to trade in intermediate capital goods being a significant vehicle for international technology diffusion.

The geographic scale at which density externalities operate is analysed in this paper. Using geocoded high-resolution data, the analysis is focused on exogenously determined within-city squares (‘neighbourhoods’) of 1 km². The analysis confirms a city-wide employment density–wage elasticity and an economically significant density–wage elasticity at the neighbourhood level that attenuate sharply with distance. Panel estimates over 20 years suggest a neighbourhood density–wage elasticity of about 3%, while the city-wide elasticity is about 1%. It is argued that the neighbourhood level is more prone to capture learning, e.g. through knowledge and information spillovers. This interpretation is supported by (1) significantly larger neighbourhood elasticities for university educated workers and (2) sharper attenuation with distance of the effect for such workers.

Spatial variations in rates of new firm formation are large and spatially persistent over long periods of time. A common explanation of this empirical regularity is so-called local entrepreneurship cultures, which refer to spatially embedded social characteristics that change in slow processes. This paper discusses perspectives on the development of such cultures and focuses on the role of historical industry structures in forming the long-run entrepreneurial character of regions. To illustrate the empirical relevance of arguments and findings in the literature, we use historical data on voting patterns in municipalities in Sweden, as well as indications of their early industrial concentrations, and assess their correlations with present-day entrepreneurial activity. We show that places with a high share of left-wing votes in the period 1917–1948 and early historical presence of heavy industry have lower rates of new firm formation, less positive public attitudes toward entrepreneurship as well as larger average establishment sizes in the twenty-first century. The empirical patterns are consistent with the argument that regions’ historical industry structure is one factor that influences the development of local entrepreneurship cultures.

We show that entrepreneurs are co-located within cities. One plausible source of such spatial clustering is local social interactions, where individuals' decisions to become entrepreneurs are influenced by entrepreneurial neighbors. Using geo-coded matched employer-employee data for Sweden, we find that sharing residential neighborhood with established entrepreneurs has a statistically significant and robust influence on the probability that an individual leaves employment for entrepreneurship. An otherwise average neighborhood with a 5% point higher entrepreneurial intensity, all else equal, produces between six and seven additional entrepreneurs per square kilometer, each year. Our estimates suggest a local feedback-effect in which the presence of established entrepreneurs in a neighborhood influences the emergence of new local entrepreneurs. Our analysis supports the conjecture that social interaction effects constitute a mechanism by which local entrepreneurship clusters in cities develop and persist over time.

Do workers benefit from proximity to other workers with similar skill sets? This question dates back at least to Alfred Marshall. We use occupation groups to proxy skill sets and show that the answer likely depends on geographical levels, as well on regional hierarchy. Using longitudinal Swedish data, we document robust evidence consistent with highly localized spillovers at the level of sub-city districts between individuals in similar occupations. We further demonstrate less distance-sensitive benefits of working in districts and regions, characterized by high overall density (of employees in other occupations). We find no evidence of benefits from overall density outside Sweden’s three main metropolitan areas.

We employ finely geo-coded firm-level panel data to assess the long-standing question whether agglomeration economies derive from specialization (within-industry), diversity (between-industry) or overall density. Rather than treating the city as a single unit, we focus our analysis on how the inner industry structures of cities influence firm-level productivity. Our results illustrate the co-existence of several externalities that differ in their spatial distribution and attenuation within cities. First, we find robust positive effects of neighborhood-level specialization on TFP as well as a small effect of diversity at the same fine spatial level. These effects are highly localized and dissipate beyond the immediate within-city neighborhood level. Second, we also find that firms benefit from the overall density of the wider city. The results emphasize the relevance of “opening up” cities to study the workings of their inner organization and support the idea that location in a within-city industry cluster in a diversified and dense city boosts productivity. 

Cities exhibit a rich and complex heterogeneity in people and activities. This poses a sizable challenge for planners when planning new neighbourhoods or the reconstruction of old ones as well as when considering the allocation of supply of and demand for amenities, e.g. kindergartens or health facilities. However, individual preferences may also exhibit common denominators that may provide structure to this heterogeneity. One such denominator is age. In this paper we introduce the concept of neighbourhood age, defined as the mean age of people living in exogenously defined squares of 1km2 in a city. We use highly disaggregated geocoded data to map how the spatial distribution of neighbourhood age changes over a 20-year period from 1991 to 2011 in the city of Stockholm, Sweden. We then test the correlation between neighbourhood age and two categories of urban amenities: supply of local consumption amenities and distance to the city's central business district (CBD). The paper presents three main findings: First, neighbourhood age changes and polarizes significantly over the observed period, suggesting that different age groups are concentrating in different parts of the city. Second, there is a rejuvenation in the central parts of the city but also in more distant clusters of amenities. Third, over a long-term perspective, the results suggest that local clusters of consumption amenities outside the inner city may become increasingly attractive to younger people. Our conclusion is that neighbourhood age and age-related patterns over time provides a tool for planners to better understand the spatial distribution of age-related demand. 

Although the phenomenon of hybrid entrepreneurs—individuals who work in paid and self-employment simultaneously—is prevalent, the psychological well-being of hybrid entrepreneurs has not been researched systematically to date. This is unlike research on paid employment and (assumed) full-time entrepreneurship, where psychological well-being has been researched as a key factor. Using data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey, we address this void by studying whether hybrid entrepreneurs display distinct psychological well-being patterns (measured via mental strain, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction), utilizing a comparison with full-time paid employed, full-time self-employed and individuals working in two paid jobs. We further examine whether the specific work arrangements of hybrid entrepreneurs shape their well-being. To this end, we study the changes in well-being of hybrid entrepreneurs and other individuals in the comparison groups who switch to other jobs. For this purpose, we employed matching (entropy balancing approach) to account for self-selection effects. Our results suggest that the well-being of hybrid entrepreneurs is indeed distinct and can be explained by both self-selection effects and unique aspects of their work arrangements. Our study is thus the first to deliver evidence showing that hybrid entrepreneurs need to be studied as a separate group in entrepreneurship research concerned with well-being and psychological functioning. Our results have important implications not only for future research but also for practice.

We provide new evidence on sexual orientation, entrepreneurship, and firm survival using Swedish population register data linked to business registry data from 1995 to 2020. Over this period, we study over 19,000 individuals who ever entered a legal same-sex union and compare their entrepreneurship and firm level outcomes with individuals exclusively in different-sex unions. We find that sexual minority men are 7.8% less likely than comparable heterosexual men to be entrepreneurs, while sexual minority women are 4.8% more likely than comparable heterosexual women to be entrepreneurs. Both differences are statistically significant. We also provide the first evidence regarding the survival of sexual minority founded firms compared to firms founded by heterosexual individuals. Our results show that firms founded by sexual minority women fail more quickly than observably similar firms founded by heterosexual women, with no significant survival difference observed for sexual minority men. We explore the role of several external and internal factors that may explain these underlying patterns and find that lack of a 'trapped market' may contribute to the higher failure rate of firms founded by sexual minority women. We also find suggestive support for a role of romantic partners in explaining differences in firm survival experienced by sexual minority women compared to heterosexual women. We find that sexual minority men are less likely than heterosexual men to be entrepreneurs. Sexual minority women are more likely to be entrepreneurs than heterosexual women, but their ventures fail more quickly. Customer discrimination against sexual minorities may play a role, suggesting the potential for an expanded scope of intervention to reduce such discrimination. Heterosexual women's access to a male partner's resources may also contribute to the differential firm survival gap.

In this paper, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of entrepreneurs. We surveyed a representative sample of Swedish entrepreneurs and wage employees at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey data, combined with register data, show that the COVID-19 outbreak has a negative effect on the well-being of entrepreneurs in terms of increased perceived stress. However, this negative effect is weaker for entrepreneurs who feel younger than their chronological age and entrepreneurs who are geographically distant from the epicenter of the crisis. 

Many developed countries will face a disproportionately large share of older individuals in the future. This change may lead to a labour force characterized by older employees and older operational managers. This paper contributes to the existing literature on the effect of aging on firm performance by performing an explorative analysis of how the age of the operational manager and the age composition of employees relate to the survival of Swedish firms during 2004–2013. We observe that the relationship between the age of the operational manager and firm exit changes functional shape when separated into different firm-size categories. Additionally, the age of the operational manager tends to be more important for new firms compared to incumbents. The share of older employees is positively associated with firm survival. 

Using data for over four decades, we examine the ageing of Swedish municipalities and if there has been convergence or divergence across time and space, where we differentiate across the urban–rural hierarchy. As migration is claimed to be a moderating factor in the ageing of places, we assess how the share of immigrants relates to ageing patterns. Our findings show that the share of older individuals increases in more peripheral localities and that there has been convergence across municipalities. However, the share of foreign population is negatively related to the ageing profile of a place.

We analyse the determinants of self-employment and focus on the contextual environment. By distinguishing between commuters and non-commuters we are able to analyse the influence from the work and home environment, respectively. Our results indicate a significant difference between non-commuters and commuters in terms of the role of networks for becoming self-employed. Our results indicate that it is the business networks where people work, rather than where they live that exerts a positive influence on the probability of becoming self-employed. These effects are further robust over educational and occupational categories.

Studies confirm an inverted U-shaped relationship between age and entrepreneurship. This paper deepens the understanding of this relationship by analysing how the relationship varies across time and across different types of regions, aspects often overlooked in the current literature. An individual perspective is taken, and the probability of starting a firm is expected to increase as individuals' age but at a decreasing rate. The results show significant differences in the relationship between the age of individuals and the rate of entrepreneurship across time and space. The age-entrepreneurship profile has shifted to the left over time such that individuals are younger when they start firms. 

In the entrepreneurship literature, it is generally assumed that an individual establishes a new firm in a location in which they have strong ties, normally in the municipality of residence or employment. We scrutinise this general assumption and show that firm location depends on individual characteristics, such as the commuting experience. Our results show that commuting influences the firm location choice. The probability of establishing a firm in the work municipality increases if the entrepreneur is a commuter, holding constant the type of region and unobservable and observable individual features. 

Most rural areas face a range of challenges stemming from the loss of their traditional comparative advantages due to mechanisation, automation, and structural change. In comparison to urban regions, these areas face systemic structural problems, such as lower levels of formal education, ageing populations, and a low and shrinking market potential. Rural areas therefore tend to offer a less fertile environment for entrepreneurship than urban areas provide. In this chapter, we will explore various aspects of rural entrepreneurship by analysing how the volume of entrepreneurship varies in rural areas in Sweden depending upon the size of the local market potential and the development level of the local economic milieu. We will further share insights into rural entrepreneurship by analysing the relative shares of distinct types of entrepreneurship by separating unincorporated and incorporated firms and distinguishing new firms with multiple employees from one-employee firms.

Many developed countries are facing a demographic change with an increasing share of older individuals, yet little is known about how older workers will impact regional and national economies in terms of labor market dynamics. This Handbook deals with the important and emerging field of entrepreneurship among this group and focuses on the behavioral perspectives of this phenomenon; on innovation, dynamics and performance; and the ways entrepreneurship among the elderly looks within different countries.

[From publisher's description]

The increased flow of individuals across national borders has led to a more diverse set of inhabitants in a region and a larger share of individuals with a foreign background in the labor force. Sweden is no exception, as it hosts a large share of foreign-born individuals due to its long history of both labor market-driven and forced migration. Integration into the labor market is vitally important for individuals with a foreign background, and the hospitality sector plays an important role since it employs a large share of employees with foreign backgrounds. By using this as a starting point, we explore the probability of becoming employed (out of opportunity or by necessity) within the hospitality sector for an individual with a foreign background. The results show that individuals with foreign backgrounds are more likely to be employed, both out of opportunity and by necessity, in the hospitality sector.

The hospitality industry is a rapidly growing revenue generator in many countries and is becoming economically important for generating employment and for integrating of immigrants into the labor market. As an industry where firms face fierce competition, it is important for the firms to maintain their competitiveness by distinguishing themselves from others through continuous improvements and innovations. In this article, we investigate the determinants of innovation in the hospitality industry by analyzing survey data gathered from over 900 firms in Sweden. In the analysis, we differentiate between firm-specific and location-specific features. We conclude that the most important characteristics that explain innovation lie within the firm itself, not the location. These results provide important insights regarding firm- versus location-placed innovation policies.

Many countries have experienced increases in the diversity of their labor forces. Our paper examines one such country—Sweden—and relates the diversity of the local labor force, in terms of demography, culture, education, occupation and industry, to new firm formation. We measure diversity using entropy measures that account for a wider range of differences than is typically used. Our empirical analysis finds a positive relationship between diversity of the labor force, in terms of demography, culture and education, and the rate of new firm formation. Our results add to the literature on the workings of agglomeration economies in urban growth through variations in human capital, information spillovers and innovation.

We analyze the influence that the diversity of individuals, both within a firm and in the region where the firm is located, has on firm survival. We estimate a hazard model using microdata for Swedish firms for the years 2002-2013. Results show that firm-specific diversity in education, age, and gender are positively associated with firm survival. However, firm-specific diversity by place of origin is negatively associated with firm survival. Yet the cultural diversity among the inhabitants in the region where the firm is located enhances firm survival. Magnitudes of the effects vary by region and industrial sector.

The current surge in forced migration to Europe is probably the largest and most complex since the Second World War. As population aging accelerates and fertility falls below replacement level, immigration may be seen as a key component of human capital to address labor and skill shortages. Receiving countries are, however, hesitant about the contribution that forced migrants can make to the local economy. Coupled with increasing pressure on welfare services, they are associated with increased job competition and crime. Underutilization of immigrants’ skills is, however, a waste of resources that countries can scarcely afford. Understanding the labor market integration process of forced migrants is thus critical to develop policies that unleash their full skills potential and ultimately foster local economic productivity. While prior studies have examined the employment and salary outcomes of these immigrants at a particular point in time post-migration, they have failed to capture the temporal dynamics and complexity of this process. Drawing on administrative data from Sweden, we examine the occupational pathways of forced migrants using sequence analysis from their arrival in 1991 through to 2013. Findings reveal polarized pathways of long-term labor market integration with over one-third of refugees experiencing a successful labor market integration pathway and an equally large share facing a less fruitful employment outcomes. Our findings suggest education provision is key to promote a more successful integration into the local labor market by reducing barriers of cultural proximity and increasing the occurrence of entrepreneurship activity. 

This introduction to the special issue “The Geography of Innovation and Entrepreneurship” in the Annals of Regional Science surveys a collection of nine papers which consider agglomeration economies and spatial heterogeneity of regions and firms through the lenses of innovation and entrepreneurship. They all make use of extensive and detailed data sources that enable models to provide a richer picture of how firms, industries and regions are affected by innovation and entrepreneurship but also how these entities shape and foster renewal. These factors include spatial concentration, industry composition, labor market characteristics, immigration, firm characteristics, R&D activities and R&D collaboration. The papers add to the understanding of the geography of innovation and entrepreneurship by suggesting alternative ways of identifying spillovers, combing and integrating internal and external knowledge sources, and by estimating the impact on innovation, new firm formation and growth.

This paper examines the effects of human capital on the growth and survival of a large sample of Swedish businesses. Human capital is represented by conventional measures of the educational attainment and experience of an establishment’s workers and skills-based measures of the types of occupations present in the company. Controlling for an establishment’s size and age, as well as its industry and region of location, we find that the human capital embodied in a company’s workers affects its performance. The specific effects, however, depend on how human capital is measured and whether the analysis focuses on growth or survival.

This study evaluates career trajectories in the retail and wholesale sectors, focusing on individual attributes and the underlying factors influencing diverse career outcomes. Employing quantitative (sequence analysis and logit estimations) and qualitative (interview study) methodologies, we examine the pre-pandemic era to systematically map prevalent career trajectories in retail and wholesale. We identify personal traits associated with each career outcome, examine the reasons behind these trajectories, and explore strategies businesses can implement to retain their workforce. Our findings indicate that retail and wholesale sector employees typically experience either a prolonged career or a transient one, where initial jobs serve as a springboard to other industries or higher education. In retail, the likelihood of industry switching is lower among males, older individuals, those without children, and individuals with less education. In wholesale, a similar trend is observed, albeit without notable gender disparities. A key factor for employee turnover is the absence of skills development opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by built heritages and cultural environments, alongside other locational factors, in explaining the growth of human capital in Sweden. We distinguish between urban, natural and cultural qualities as different sources of regional attractiveness and estimate their influence on the observed growth of individuals with at least three years of higher education during 2001–2010. Neighborhood-level data are used, and unobserved heterogeneity and spatial dependencies are modeled by employing random effects estimations and an instrumental variable approach. Our findings indicate that the local supply of built heritages and cultural environments explain a significant part of human capital growth in Sweden. Results suggest that these types of cultural heritages are important place-based resources with a potential to contribute to improved regional attractiveness and growth.