Thomas Brenner

Followers

Following

Co-author

Public Views

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Thomas Brenner

Is there a life cycle in all industries? First evidence from industry size dynamics in West Germany

Applied Economics Letters

New editors-in-chief and 40th anniversary of RRR

Review of Regional Research

Mikaela Backman is an associate professor at JIBS. She has a background in economics and her rese... more Mikaela Backman is an associate professor at JIBS. She has a background in economics and her research focuses on entrepreneurship, regional economics and firm dynamics. Iris Wanzenböck is an assistant professor at Utrecht University. She is educated in economic geography, economics and political science. Her research interests focus on science and innovation, knowledge networks and innovation policy. These appointments aim at strengthening the RRR that celebrates it's 40th anniversary this year. The German speaking section (GfR) of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) launched the journal in 1980, named as "Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft". Since 2006 the journal has been published by Springer.

Download

Evolutionary economics and policy: Introduction to the special issue

Journal of Evolutionary Economics

The perspective of evolutionary economics on policy, its underlying theoretical implications and ... more The perspective of evolutionary economics on policy, its underlying theoretical implications and conception, as well as implications are different than that of neo-classical economics. In evolutionary economics, economic development Bis seen as a continuing process in space and time^(Boulding 1991, p. 9). It implies that the economy and our knowledge about it are assumed to be continuously evolving. Consequently, universally valid laws and time-invariant facts do not exist therein, which includes policy. BDuring the process of policy making, and in its aftermath, the positive and normative knowledge that informs the actions of the agents involved can change through experience and induced inventive learning^(Witt 2003, p. 77). On the one hand, this view makes policy, its design and consequences, much more complex and less straightforward. On the other hand, it offers a more realistic understanding of the economy that amongst others, allows for adequately analyzing path-dependent and path-breaking dynamics as well as spatial processes shaping the economy. Of particular importance in this context are knowledge diffusion and innovation, which define the pace and direction of these developments. In addition, they shape (future) economic growth potentials. Therefore, it is not surprising that innovation policy is at the center of the policy-oriented evolutionary economics literature (e.g.,

Download

Regional Interaction and Effects of Universities: Introduction to the Special Issue

Review of Regional Research

In recent years universities have changed with regard to their character, organization and tasks ... more In recent years universities have changed with regard to their character, organization and tasks they are expected to fulfil (Blume et al. 2017), not only in continental Europe, but also around the world. Organization has become more centralized and more oriented towards efficiency and excellence. In the context of these changes, universities are nowadays expected to provide more than scientific publications and graduates. Their so-called 'third mission' is based on widespread interaction with the economy, policy makers, and the wider society. This also includes a stronger interaction within the region. As a consequence, an increasing contribution to innovation, economic growth, structural change, societal development, and the attraction of people is expected at the regional level. These new aspects of universities' importance for regions implies various new research strands. While the relevance of universities for sustainable developments in regions has been addressed by a recent special issue of this journal (Koenig et al. 2017; Roesler and Brökel 2017; Radinger-Peer and Pflitsch 2017; Brenner and Pflitsch 2017), this special issue continues on the topic with contributions on two further aspects: Two of the four papers in this special issue aim at providing a more differentiated understanding of university effects and network formation. The focus of the two other papers in this special issue is on teaching-related forms of interaction and effects of universities on migration.

Download

Motives behind the mobility of university graduates – A study of three German universities

Review of Regional Research

The mobility of university graduates is influenced by economic factors and individual attitudes. ... more The mobility of university graduates is influenced by economic factors and individual attitudes. The paper at hand focuses on individual characteristics influencing the spatial preferences of graduates from three universities in Hesse (Germany). Using survey data from prospective graduates in 2012 we find that the majority has preferred locations during the job search, which are on average farther away if the respondents focus on broad availability of job opportunities and leisure/cultural activities. Social ties and a focus on good infrastructure leads to a search dominantly at familiar places, i.e. the home or university region.

Download

The effects of public research and subsidies on regional structural strength

Journal of Evolutionary Economics

Modeling Firm and Market Dynamics: A Flexible Model Reproducing Existing Stylized Facts on Firm Growth

Computational Economics

Causal relations between knowledge-intensive business services and regional employment growth

Regional Studies

Causal relations between knowledge-intensive business services and regional employment growth. Re... more Causal relations between knowledge-intensive business services and regional employment growth. Regional Studies. This paper studies the causal relations between regional employment growth in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and overall regional employment growth using German labour-market data for 1999-2012. Adopting a recently developed technique, it uses a structural vector autoregressive model in which the causal directions between KIBS and other sectors are examined including various time lags. Results show that although regional growth has a negative short-term effect on KIBS, KIBS growth has a long-term positive effect on the whole regional economy. This confirms the claim that KIBS can play a key role in regional policies. KEYWORDS regional employment growth; growth spillovers; knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS); industrial dynamics; financial geography 摘要知识密集商业服务和区域就业成长之间的因果关係。Regional Studies. 本文运用德国自1999年至2012年的劳动市场数据，研究知识密集商业服务(KIBS)的区域就业成长和总体区域就业成长之间的因果关係。本文採用晚进发展的技术，使用结构向量自迴归模型，其中KIBS和其他部门之间的因果方向受到检视，包括各种时间迟后。研究结果显示，尽管区域成长对KIBS具有短期的负面效应，KIBS成长对於整体区域经济则具有长期的正面效应。此一研究结果确认了KIBS能够在区域政策中扮演关键角色的主张。关键词区域就业成长; 成长外溢; 知识密集商业服务(KIBS); 產业动态; 金融地理学 RÉSUMÉ Les liens de causalité entre les services aux entreprises à haute intensité de connaissances et la croissance de l'emploi régional. Regional Studies. À partir des données sur le marché allemand du travail pour la période allant de 1999 jusqu'à 2012, ce présent article étudie les liens de causalité entre la croissance de l'emploi régional dans les services aux entreprises à haute intensité de connaissances (knowledge-intensive business services; KIBS) et la croissance globale de

Download

Universities and sustainable regional development: introduction to the special issue

Review of Regional Research

Introduction: universities and sustainable regional development Universities matter to the develo... more Introduction: universities and sustainable regional development Universities matter to the development of their host regions. This insight is anything but new, as countless studies demonstrate the positive impact of universities on their regional environment. To some extent this is hardly surprising. For centuries governments all over Europe, and also in other parts of the world, have funded existing universities and initiated the establishment of new ones. This support was often linked to useful university outputs. For instance, educating civil servants constituted one of the earliest tasks of European universities, and 19th century technical universities were primarily established to safeguard the supply of human capital for the emerging science-based industries (Hüther and Krücken 2016). Systematic empirical research into the effects of universities on their host regions likewise has a long tradition. Initially, much of this research focused on how the expenditures of universities, faculty, staff and students affect their host regions through direct and indirect "demand-side" effects of consumption and investment. Time and again, researchers estimated these effects to be substantial (cf. Drucker and Goldstein 2007, for a survey). It is similarly well-established that universities exert "supplyside" effects through the production of graduates (Stephan 2012). More recently the T. Brenner

Download

The raise of publications on sustainability—a case study in Germany

Review of Regional Research

Influence of heat index on regional mortality in Europe

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions

Numerous studies of single locations have shown that high perceived temperatures have negative he... more Numerous studies of single locations have shown that high perceived temperatures have negative health consequences – including higher mortality – for humans. Others have confirmed that the frequency of such dangerous heat events will increase in the future. This study extends these insights by examining the relationship between heat index, a measure of the physiological effects of heat, and mortality for a large area (Europe) on a regional scale. The results show that, in Europe as a whole, the heat index has a significant influence on mortality. Furthermore, this influence is heterogeneously distributed throughout different regions in Europe. In light of Europe's changing climate, this knowledge can serve as a basis for policies to mitigate the effects of heat waves in the future.

Download

Evolving localization patterns of company foundationsEvidence from the German MST-industry

Journal of Evolutionary Economics

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Download

Perceived temperature in the course of climate change: an analysis of global heat index from 1979–2013

Earth System Science Data Discussions

The increase in global mean temperatures resulting from climate change has wide reaching conseque... more The increase in global mean temperatures resulting from climate change has wide reaching consequences for the earth's ecosystems and other natural systems. Many studies have been devoted to evaluating the distribution and effects of these changes. We go a step further and evaluate global changes to the heat index, a measure of temperature as perceived by humans. Heat index, which is computed from temperature and relative humidity, is more important than temperature for the health of humans and other animals. Even in cases where the heat index does not reach dangerous levels from a health perspective, it has been shown to be an important factor in worker productivity and thus in economic productivity. <br><br> We compute heat index from dewpoint temperature and absolute temperature 2 m above ground from the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset for the years 1979–2013. The data is provided aggregated to daily minima, means and maxima (doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/1...

Download

The Use of Simulations in Developing Robust Knowledge about Causal Processes: Methodological Considerations and an Application to Industrial Evolution

The paper develops a simulation method that can be used to develop knowledge inductively and test... more The paper develops a simulation method that can be used to develop knowledge inductively and test hypotheses about causal processes in social systems. Combining existing simulation methods in novel ways, it describes in detail the uses and requirements for carrying out history-friendly simulation experiments. The second part of the paper illustrates the value of the methodology by developing inductively information about the precise causal impact of (1) the initial number of organic chemists at the start of the industry (1857) and (2) the responsiveness of the German university system on the German global market share in the synthetic dye industry in 1913.

Download

Local Factors and Innovativeness – An Empirical Analysis of German Patents for Five Industries

A growing body of work emphasizes the role that the spatial component plays in the in the innovat... more A growing body of work emphasizes the role that the spatial component plays in the in the innovation process. These perspectives brought the region's infrastructure and its endowment with crucial factors into the focus of research. Given that these factors do significantly influence the innovativeness of local firms, it is important to identify precisely which regional characteristics matter.

Download

An investigation of the relation between cooperation and the innovative success of German regions

Concepts like regional innovation systems, innovative milieu, and learning regions emphasize the ... more Concepts like regional innovation systems, innovative milieu, and learning regions emphasize the positive contribution of intra-regional cooperation to firms' innovation performance. Despite substantial numbers of case studies, the quantitative empirical evidence for this claim is thin. Using data on the co-application and coinvention of patents for 270 German labor market regions the study shows that intraregional cooperation intensity and regional innovation efficiency are associated. In contrast to the negative influence of interregional cooperation, medium levels of intra-regional cooperation stimulate regional innovation efficiency.

Download

The Impact of History on the Emergence of Localised Industrial Clusters - An Simulation Approach

Policy measures to support the emergence of localised industrial clusters

Download

Detecting Spatial Clustering Using a Firm-Level Index

Working Papers on Innovation and Space, 2013

ABSTRACT We present a new statistical method that detects industrial clusters at a firm level. Th... more ABSTRACT We present a new statistical method that detects industrial clusters at a firm level. The proposed method does not divide space into subunits whereby it is not affected by the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP). Our metric differs both in its calculation and interpretation from existing distanceâ€based metrics and shows four central properties that enable its meaningful usage for cluster analysis. The method fulfills all five criteria for a test of localization proposed by Duranton and Overman (2005).

Firm growth and the spatial impact of geolocated external factors: Empirical evidence for German manufacturing firms

In this paper the relationship between firm growth and external knowledge sources, such as relate... more In this paper the relationship between firm growth and external knowledge sources, such as related firms and universities, is studied. The spatial characteristics of these relationships are examined by geolocating firms into a more realistic relational space using travel time distances and using flexible distance decay function specifications. This approach properly accounts for growth relevant knowledge spillovers and allows for estimating their spatial range and functional form. Applying quantile regression techniques on a large sample of German manufacturing firms, we show that the impact of external factors substantially differ along firms' size, type of knowledge source and growth level.

Download

Thomas Brenner

Uploads

Papers by Thomas Brenner

Log In