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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2026–10–12
twenty papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Keisuke Kondo (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry and Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how multiple agglomeration and dispersion forces shaped Mexico’s regional economic geography during the early post-NAFTA period. When economic activity becomes geographically concentrated, consumers gain better access to differentiated varieties and face lower effective transport costs, reducing the local consumption price index and making a region more attractive as a migration destination. Building on this price-index mechanism from New Economic Geography, we focus on four spatial forces: proximity to the U.S. market, the manufacturing price-index effect, the service price-index effect, and density-related urban costs. Using bilateral interstate migration between 1995 and 2000, we proceed in two stages. First, we estimate the structural parameters of the model and recover state-level price indices for manufactured goods and services. Second, we examine how destination–origin differences in nominal wages, price indices, and urban costs are associated with migration across sectors, while controlling for the additional locational advantage of U.S. border states. The manufacturing price index is strongly and negatively associated with migration of manufacturing workers, whereas its cross-sector effects are more limited. By contrast, the service price index is negatively and significantly associated with migration across all sectors, indicating a broad domestic agglomeration force. Employment density is generally negatively associated with migration, consistent with urban costs acting as a centrifugal force, while real-wage differentials are positively associated with migration across most industries. Taken together, the findings suggest that post-NAFTA Mexico was shaped by the interaction of border-oriented manufacturing agglomeration, domestic service-sector agglomeration, and urban-cost-driven dispersion. |
| Keywords: | Migration; Supplier access; Price index; Real wage; Agglomeration |
| JEL: | J61 O15 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2026-27 |
| By: | Jeffrey Brinkman; Jeffrey Lin |
| Abstract: | We construct city-level measures of freeway disamenities and examine their association with metropolitan growth. We combine neighborhood-level estimates from Brinkman and Lin (2024) with calibrated spatial models for U.S. metropolitan areas. Each city measure is based on a counterfactual that removes estimated disamenities while holding modeled travel times fixed. Cities with larger estimated disamenities grew more slowly, conditioned on total freeway mileage and initial population. Total freeway mileage is positively associated with growth in the same specification. Estimated disamenities are larger in cities with greater 1950 populations, more centralized freeway networks, and coastal geography. These patterns are consistent with local quality-of-life costs attenuating regional access related growth benefits. |
| Keywords: | freeway disamenities; metropolitan growth; quantitative spatial model; transportation infrastructure; urban quality of life; Interstate Highway System |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R13 R23 R41 |
| Date: | 2026–10–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:103888 |
| By: | Korneliusz Pylak (Lublin University of Technology, Lublin, Poland); Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the dynamics of regional innovation activity in Europe from 2000 to 2020 using patent applications. Standard convergence measures indicate that regional disparities are narrowing, with initially lagging regions catching up to the leading ones. Our analysis reveals two persistent ‘clubs’: the ‘lagging’ and the ‘advanced’ regions. Although these groups are becoming increasingly similar, the differences between them remain largely unchanged. Despite two decades of growth, the disparity between the two clubs still accounts for a great deal of the total variation in regional patenting. These patterns suggest a convergence illusion that is overlooked in the current scholarly debate. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation, convergence, convergence clubs, European regions |
| JEL: | O31 R11 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–09–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-011 |
| By: | Klaus Desmet; Dávid Krisztián Nagy; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how human capital shapes the economic geography of development. We propose a model in which human capital acquisition costs vary across space, and regions with higher human capital invest more in human-capital-augmenting technology. Locations are interconnected through costly migration and trade. Using data on local income and schooling, we quantify the model at a 1° x 1° resolution globally. Over two centuries, the model mostly predicts persistence in the spatial distribution of development. Proportionally lowering education costs in sub-Saharan Africa raises local outcomes but lowers global welfare, while the same policy in Latin America improves global welfare. An alternative policy that equalizes educational costs across sub-Saharan Africa generates worse outcomes, as population shifts within the region toward less productive areas. These results are driven by the estimated negative correlation between education costs and local fundamentals, as well as spatial inefficiencies due to externalities. |
| Keywords: | human capital; geography; development; education policy; global inequality; dynamic spatial models |
| JEL: | E24 F10 I24 J24 O11 O18 O33 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2026–09–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:103849 |
| By: | Krieger, Bastian (ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung; TUM – Technische Universität München); Kroll, Henning (Fraunhofer ISI; Leibniz Universität Hannover); Schubert, Torben (Fraunhofer ISI; CIRCLE, Lund University); Strecke, Linus (ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung; TU Berlin); Garcia Chavez, Cecilia (Fraunhofer ISI; CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether the local economic effects of niche university actors depend on regional context. Focusing on private university campuses in Germany, we exploit their staggered foundation between 1990 and 2020 and estimate their effects using a conditional staggered difference-in-differences design at the postal-code level. Campus foundations raise local economic activity, but only gradually, with effects becoming statistically significant after about ten years. The effects are strongest in rural and intermediate regions, while urban regions show no significant effects. This pattern supports our argument that niche universities have greater potential to become significant actors in institutionally thinner rural regions. |
| Keywords: | Regional growth; Private universities; Place-based leadership; Urban-rural |
| JEL: | O12 O18 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2026_005 |
| By: | Haldar, Stuti (CIRCLE, Lund University); Pugh, Rhiannon (CIRCLE, Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | As green transitions accelerate, the resulting socio-technical transformations often produce uneven spatial impacts, generating 'green' discontent in peripheral and rural regions. Despite the growing discourse on 'just transition', regional policy models frequently overlook the multidimensional nature of justice. Through this study we explore how justice can be conceptualized and operationalized within regional green transitions? Theoretically, we propose a framework – the justice doughnut- that positions the trivalent approach (distributional, procedural, and recognitional justice) in regional development. We situate this framework amidst the evolving tensions between top-down 'directionality' (driven by sustainability mandates and strategic autonomy) and bottom-up 'subsidiarity' (rooted in place-based policy). We hence recontextualise justice as a mutually constitutive space that mediates the governance of regional transformations. Empirically, we illustrate this framework with a case study in Jämtland-Härjedalen, a peripheral region in North Sweden, vital to national transition ambitions. Employing an abductive, multi-method qualitative design - incorporating policy analysis, stakeholder interviews, and deliberative workshops- we examine the multilevel interactions between local, national, and EU actors. The findings reveal pervasive asymmetries in resources and legitimacy, alongside significant intra-regional differentiation. By highlighting how governance logics shape justice outcomes, we offer a generative lens for rethinking just regional development. We, hence, contribute to a deeper understanding of the institutional conditions necessary to reconcile national transition goals with regional equity in peripheral European contexts. |
| Keywords: | Regional development; Directionality; Subsidiarity; Just transition; Peripheral regions |
| JEL: | Q56 Q58 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2026_002 |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We examine the long-term relationship between historical levels of self-employment and economic performance in different regions of Germany. A particular distinction is made between West Germany and the eastern part of the country, that came after WWII for forty years under socialist regime. Regional self-employment rates exhibit high correlation over time periods exceeding a century. In West Germany, high and increasing levels of self-employment are significantly associated with high current levels of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per population, despite several major historical shocks. That such a relationship cannot be found in East Germany could be a legacy of the socialist period where the government performed anti-entrepreneurial policies. We also find a positive relationship between historical self-employment and patenting in both parts of the country. This relationship is, however, somewhat weaker in East Germany, which experienced considerably more historical shocks than West Germany. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, self-employment, regional prosperity, patenting, long-term effects |
| JEL: | L26 R11 O52 |
| Date: | 2026–09–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-010 |
| By: | Obschonka, Martin (Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Guldåker, Nicklas (CIRCLE, Lund University); Rauhut, Daniel (CIRCLE, Lund University); Rentfrow, Peter Jason (Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge); Potter, Jeff (Atof Inc., Cambridge); Gosling, Samuel D. (Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Personality traits (e.g., the Big Five) shape human behavior, decision-making, and life outcomes. Evidence from various countries suggests that these traits are not randomly distributed but follow systematic regional patterns, fueling interest in their geographical variation. Prior research shows that regional personality compositions can influence—and be influenced by—regional socio-economic development. Here, we present an initial personality map of Sweden based on N = 22, 225 geo-coded personality assessments at the municipal level. In contrast to Sweden's reputation for equality, our analysis reveals notable regional contrasts in personality composition. The data show geographical patterns in adaptive traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability [low Neuroticism]), known predictors of better psychological functioning. Sweden's rust belt exhibits notably lower levels of these traits, while the southernmost region (mainly Scania) shows higher levels. These patterns align with ongoing discussions on regional socio-economic polarization in Sweden and may reflect a macro-psychological imprint of these processes. We therefore propose a future research agenda to examine the causes and consequences of these regional personality variations, while considering potential policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Personality; Regions; Sweden; Culture; Economic history; Geography |
| JEL: | N94 R11 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_006 |
| By: | von Borries, Alvaro (CIRCLE, Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Hall, Ola (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and applies a multidimensional indicator of objective well-being grounded in the capabilities approach to analyze spatial and temporal patterns across Swedish municipalities from 2002 to 2020. Operationalizing well-being as a place-based capability environment across six dimensions – economic, health, education, safety, civic, and inclusion – the study moves beyond income-centered accounts of regional inequality and examines how different dimensions of well-being are jointly shaped by local institutional and socioeconomic contexts. The analysis reveals that well-being is persistently structured by municipality type and industrial composition, yet in ways that defy a simple urban advantage: large municipalities lead on economic and educational dimensions but score systematically lower on safety and inclusion, while rural and small municipalities display more balanced capability profiles. Over the study period, well-being improved broadly but unevenly, with rural and peripheral municipalities converging toward the national median while former industrial towns experienced broad-based capability decline across multiple dimensions. The geography of well-being has increasingly aligned with the geography of political discontent, with electoral support for the Sweden Democrats growing strongest in capability-disadvantaged municipalities. Together, these findings advance a spatially grounded, multidimensional understanding of territorial inequality and offer a framework for identifying where structural disadvantage and capability deprivation intersect most acutely. |
| Keywords: | local well-being; capabilities approach; regional opportunity structures; Sweden |
| JEL: | I31 O15 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2026_003 |
| By: | Silvia Iossa; Saverio Barabuffi |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether universities shape the regional innovation effects of public R&D expenditure and whether this role varies across regional development trajectories. We analyse a panel of 1166 EU NUTS 3 regions over the period 2007-2020, combining data on European public R&D funding, patenting performance, university presence and regional development traps. Toa ddress the endogeneity of public R&D expenditure, we employ a control function aproach. The results show that public r&D expendirue positively affects patenting performance in both university and non-university, but the difference between them is not statistically significant. University presence therefore does not sistematically amplify the returns to public R&D. However, its moderating role becomes more pronounced in regions exposed to development trap risk and in regions experiencing persistent stagnation, while evidence is weaker for trap intensity. These fundings suggest that universities act as contingent rather than unviersal catalyst of public R&D. Their contribution appears particularly relevant in vulnerable and persistently stagnant regional trajectories, but less able to offset sever structural constraints. The study contributes to debates on the geography of public R&D and regional development traps by showing that the effectiveness of research funding depends not only on institutional presence, bu also on the development rajectory in which that institutional capacity is embedded. |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2610.08004 |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Cobos-Cabral, Francisco (CIRCLE, Lund University); Horvat, Andrej (U-LEAD with Europe - Ukraine Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme at GIZ) |
| Abstract: | Local agency on the edge relates to situations that are particularly harsh and difficult, places where regional development is most needed but also most difficult to achieve. We study the role and relevance of local agency in such situations, as well as enabling and hindering conditions for local agency to emerge. We do this in two peripheral municipalities in Ukraine that were attacked and temporarily occupied by Russian forces but have shown a high degree of resilience. Theoretically, we propose a broad conception of development, which includes human wellbeing and social resilience. Such a broad conception also necessitates a more comprehensive understanding of local agency underpinning development, including social and technological innovation, institutional entrepreneurship and place-based leadership. The cases provide evidence for the potential development impact of bottom-up initiatives, which may unfold if local actors are sufficiently empowered. In the context of the study, a governance reform played an important role comprising decentralisation and municipal amalgamation in the wider context of a mindset change in favour of approximation towards the European Union. Local actors changed institutions, leading to better governance and participation from the citizens. Empowerment of local actors allowed for the successful implementation of multiple projects impacting citizens' wellbeing, improving health and education institutions, as well as cultural, sports and recreation facilities. These changes opened opportunities for increased entrepreneurial activity, contributing towards employment and tax revenue. Moreover, resilience to the Russian invasion rested on improved governance, relationships, citizen engagement, and capacities for project management developed before the war. |
| Keywords: | local agency; regional development; human wellbeing; social resilience |
| JEL: | I31 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_005 |
| By: | Shoichi Otomo |
| Abstract: | This manuscript is an English translation and extended version of a paper originally published in Japanese (2022). Driven by remarkable advances in remote sensing and big data processing, spatial technologies are increasingly leveraged in economic research. While satellite nighttime light intensity is widely recognized for tracking macroeconomic parameters - such as regional GDP, employment, and population - less attention has been paid to fine-grained spatial processing methodologies for local tourism economies. This study first details a raster processing technique applied to nightlight imagery. It then focuses on Yuzawa Town (Uonuma District, Niigata Prefecture), analyzing the local economy and sports/tourist attractions. Specifically, I investigate the spatio-temporal relationships between tourist arrivals and various local statistical datasets. Furthermore, this paper highlights how nightlight data can capture intra-municipal economic dynamics that remain undetectable through standard macroeconomic indicators. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2609.33859 |
| By: | Maria Cristina Barbieri G\'oes; Saverio Barabuffi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates spatial productivity convergence across Chinese provinces during structural transformation, examining how a shift in auonomous demand composition reshaped regional productivity dynamics. Using Panel Structural Vector Autoregressive modelling and province level data from 2001 to 2021, we analyse eastern, central, ad western regions across two sub-periods through the augmented Kaldor-Verdoorn law. A post-2011 spatial reversal emerges: inland regions exhibit stronger Verdoorn coefficients, while fiscal multipliers converge across coastal and inland areas, validating China's redistributive fiscal policies in narrowing regional productivity gaps. The Kaldor-Verdoorn coefficient remains robust throughout, while export effects on productivity collapse and government expenditure effects strenghten. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2609.37051 |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Tavassoli, Sam (Deakin University); Obschonka, Martin (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Firms in peripheral and less knowledge endowed regions often struggle with innovation, as it is deeply rooted in and influenced by local characteristics. Although recent research highlights the significant, yet complex and hard-to-quantify role of local 'soft factors' such as culture and macro-psychology (e.g., local psychological openness) for firm innovation, we know relatively little about its specific role for firms located in the knowledge periphery. This study examines the hypothesis that favorable local soft factors, such as psychological openness, can compensate for unfavorable local hard factors for innovation of firms located in the knowledge periphery. Drawing upon Schmookler's scissor metaphor, we theoretically elaborate how local psychological openness impacts firm innovation by shaping both the demand and supply sides of the innovation process. In our arguments, we also incorporated the contingent impact of both regional (external) and firm (internal) factors on the relationship between local psychological openness and firm innovation. Our empirical investigation of a large and longitudinal sample of Swedish firms across 2004 to 2018 revealed a compensatory effect of local psychological openness for local 'structural knowledge gaps' in less endowed peripheral regions. Implications for research and policymaking addressing innovation in firms and regions are discussed. |
| Keywords: | firm innovation; local psychological openness; knowledge spillovers; peripheral regions |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_007 |
| By: | Christophe Storaï (LISA - Laboratoire « Lieux, Identités, eSpaces, Activités » (UMR CNRS 6240 LISA) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli]) |
| Abstract: | Corsica's economic structure is characterized by a weak industrial base, the absence of large multinational corporations, and a limited presence of intermediate-sized firms typically associated with regional economic dynamism. Instead, the island economy relies predominantly on micro- enterprises, small-scale agricultural activities, artisans, and local service providers. Within this context—combined with a structurally dominant public sector—the emergence of a sustainable development trajectory depends largely on the capacity of territorial actors to mobilize endogenous resources. This chapter argues that the articulation between human capital formation, technological research, and territorial governance constitutes a fundamental lever for the emergence of a localized skills-based economy. Drawing on theoretical contributions from territorial economics and the knowledge economy, it highlights how the Corsican case illustrates the relevance of a "territorial specification" strategy based on the valorization of localized resources and collective learning processes. By emphasizing the role of higher education institutions, innovation infrastructures, and governance mechanisms, the study contributes to the understanding of how peripheral territories can build resilience and attractiveness in a context of intensified global competition. |
| Keywords: | territorial governance, skills economy, regional development, Human capital, Human capital regional development skills economy territorial governance |
| Date: | 2026–08–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05729253 |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Pugh, Rhiannon (CIRCLE, Lund University); Miedzinski, Michal (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission); Sasso, Simone (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) |
| Abstract: | Rural regions encompass a wide variety of contexts, often facing challenges such as population decline and ageing, or limited infrastructure and services. Yet, rural territories can also be unique places for experimentation and serve as sites of transformative, sustainability-oriented development. We contribute with the development of a theoretical perspective on rural transition pathways that connects rural pre-conditions across industrial, social, and ecological dimensions with distinct varieties of innovation—technological, community-based, and nature-based—and with system effects achieved through two key elements: change agency and rescaling. We identify four archetypes of transition pathways in rural areas: rescaling a rural niche, transforming an existing industry, a community-based pathway, and a nature-based pathway, and provide an empirical illustration for each. The archetypes capture variations of possible transition pathways grounded in theoretical differences in the processes leading to system change. As such, the archetypes are propositions regarding why and how sustainable and inclusive system change can occur in rural regions. |
| Keywords: | rural development; science and technology innovation; transition pathways; agency; rescaling; place-based policy; foundation economy; nature-based innovation; bioeconomy |
| JEL: | O18 Q01 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_014 |
| By: | José-Luis Cruz; Klaus Desmet; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg |
| Abstract: | The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a system of ocean currents that plays a key role in regulating global climate, including moderating temperatures in Europe and the North Atlantic. Its potential collapse due to global warming is widely considered one of the more likely climate tipping points. This paper examines the economic implications of such a collapse using a dynamic spatially integrated assessment model (S-IAM) of the world economy. Scandinavia and parts of Russia are predicted to experience significant losses in GDP and welfare, while southern Europe, northern Africa, and Brazil benefit from slightly colder temperatures. S-IAMs generally predict that global warming is especially harmful to low-income regions, but an AMOC collapse could mitigate some of these negative impacts in parts of the developing world while instead harming some of the more advanced economies. This lowers spatial inequality, but global welfare drops by 1.9% by 2200 under an intermediate-emissions scenario. |
| JEL: | F18 F64 O11 Q54 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35811 |
| By: | Bird, Julia; Venables, Anthony; Dehe, Henry; Rubinyi, Steven Louis; Wibisana, Putu Sanjiwacika; Bui, Quang Anh Phan |
| Abstract: | Thu Duc, a rapidly urbanizing area of Ho Chi Minh City, is well located and heavily invested in policy ambition, yet its output and density remain far below what its position in the metropolitan economy would support. Much of it is also flood exposed. This paper asks how much of that shortfall flood risk explains, and what coordinated investment could recover. A Spatial Computable General Equilibrium model of the Greater Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area, covering 116 cells across Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces, evaluates interventions to 2040. The model endogenizes firm location, household residence and commuting, land use intensity, and agglomeration externalities, recovering cell-level productivity and amenity parameters by structural calibration against observed employment and residential distributions. Its methodological contribution is to integrate spatially explicit flood exposure as a determinant of those fundamentals, so flood risk is evaluated within the same general equilibrium framework as transport and land use, and local gains can be separated into net new metropolitan output and activity reallocated from elsewhere. Thu Duc's calibrated productivity is roughly one-third of the metropolitan average, implying that frontier output is more than five times the business-as-usual level. Flood mitigation raises sectoral total factor productivity by 1 2 to 21 percent and residential amenity by 10 to 13 percent, and it broadens the sectoral employment base more than the other interventions examined. A cumulative package of innovation zones, flood mitigation, and transport reaches about 31 percent of that frontier, raising output roughly two-thirds above business as usual, of which some 56 percent is net new output for the metropolis. |
| Date: | 2026–09–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11444 |
| By: | Kriesch, Lukas (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen); Losacker, Sebastian (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen) |
| Abstract: | The emergence of large language models and the exponential growth of digitized text data have revolutionized research methodologies across a broad range of social sciences. News articles are an important source of digitized text data in this context. News data is crucial for the social sciences as it provides real-time insights into public discourse and societal trends, helping to understand various social phenomena and dynamics. However, most research involving news data is conducted at the national level, as geographically more granular news data is often unavailable. In this paper, we address this gap by providing insights into how news articles can be geolocated and how the texts can then be further analyzed. More specifically, we collect data from the CommonCrawl News dataset and clean the text data for further analysis. We then use a named-entity recognition model for geocoding, linking news articles to geographic locations. Finally, we transform the news articles into text embeddings using SBERT, enabling semantic searches within the news data corpus. In the paper, we apply this process to all German news articles and make the German location data, as well as the embeddings, available for download. As a result, we compile a dataset containing text embeddings for about 50 million German news articles, of which about 70% include geographic locations. The process can be replicated for news data from other countries, as we provide all code and workflows. |
| Keywords: | News data; Natural language processing; Geography |
| JEL: | C45 O33 R12 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_004 |
| By: | Etienne Capron (DRM - MLAB - Dauphine Recherches en Management - MLAB - DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Raphaël Suire (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université, Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université, MARSOUIN - Môle Armoricain de Recherche sur la SOciété de l'information et des usages d'INternet - UR - Université de Rennes - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - UR2 - Université de Rennes 2 - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]) |
| Abstract: | While the geography of innovation is often studied at the level of city-regions, main conclusions provide only a partial account of the dynamics unfolding within cities. In this article, we examine how a set of proximate organizational sites located within a city comes to foster innovation. Specifically, we study how the placemaking practices of the entrepreneurs who originate these sites shape the localized landscape of resources that innovators mobilize to innovate. Drawing on the historical case of the Off-Off-Broadway theater (1958-1976), we show that these distributed, independent practices embedded an array of non-redundant resources within a small geographical area and, by fostering the patterning of innovators' attendance across proximate venues, cohered into an innovative micro-cluster. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs who originate such organizational sites play an active role in infrastructuring innovation within cities, with implications for how we understand the spatial organization of innovation. |
| Keywords: | place, innovation, entrepreneurship, placemaking, Off-Off-Broadway |
| Date: | 2026–09–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05772720 |