Quality of Life, Human Capital and the Innovativeness of European Cities

Diplomarbeit , 2003 , 73 Seiten , Note: Sehr Gut

BWL - Unternehmensführung, Management, Organisation

On the turn from an industrial to a knowledge based economy the rules of economic geography have changed significantly. Human capital and a high quality of life which attracts it have become the most important factors for urban economic growth.

The goal of the study was to find out whether there is evidence for the hypothesis that European cities with a high quality of life are more innovative. The reasoning is that a nice living environment attracts educated people, which in the next step lures knowledge-based companies and stirs innovative activity.

The results of the statistical analysis carried out by the author prove the hypothesis that quality of life and innovativeness are connected. Specifically a good environmental quality directly supports the production of scientific articles. Together with a high-educated labor force it also attracts innovative high-tech companies, which increase the production of patents. An overall high quality of life and a high income level attract educated people and increase the knowledge base of a city. However, a city does not necessarily have to be rich in monetary resources to achieve a good innovative performance. In fact, the quality of life predicts the innovativeness of European cities better than the income level.

Despite these findings the author also found evidence that a good environmental condition as well as learning effects through industry agglomeration increase the efficiency of knowledge workers. Cities that are home to a big number of high-tech companies and offer a nice environment produce considerably more patents per invested R&D money than other cities.

The results of the study suggest that city officials should turn away from attracting high-tech companies by monetary means and should instead concentrate on improving quality of life, especially stressing environmental cleanness. This should increase the source, which knowledge-based companies really look for in a knowledge based market place, highly educated professionals.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. Background
  • 1.2. Goal of the study - Hypothesis
  • 1.3. Research concept
  • 1.4. Report structure
• 2. Human Capital Attraction Theory
  • 2.1. Knowledge - Raw material of the 21st century
    • 2.1.1. Defining knowledge
    • 2.1.2. The central role of human capital
    • 2.1.3. The war for talent
  • 2.2. Connecting attractiveness of location and the knowledge base
  • 2.3. Connecting knowledge base of population and the knowledge intensity of industry
    • 2.3.1. Attracting high-tech companies
    • 2.3.2. Increasing the chance of innovative start-up companies
  • 2.4. Further competitiveness through knowledge spillovers
    • 2.4.1. The concept of knowledge spillovers
    • 2.4.2. Geographical impact of knowledge spillovers
    • 2.4.3. Types of knowledge spillovers
    • 2.4.4. Consequences
  • 2.5. Connecting knowledge-intensity of industry and innovation
• 3. Research and Study Design
  • 3.1. Theoretical concept
  • 3.2. Evidence from US cities
  • 3.3. Data collection and sources
  • 3.4. Independent variables
    • 3.4.1. Quality of Living Index 2002
    • 3.4.2. Environment Index 2002
    • 3.4.3. Other quality of life indicators
  • 3.5. Dependent variable
    • 3.5.1. Patents per million workers 1999
    • 3.5.2. Science Citations Index (SCI)
  • 3.6. Intermediary variables
    • 3.6.1. Knowledge base of population - Education Index
    • 3.6.2. Knowledge intensity of local industry – Business R&D expenditure
    • 3.6.3. Percentage of employment in technology oriented sectors
  • 3.7. Interfering variable
  • 3.8. The model
  • 3.9. Statistical tools
• 4. Findings
  • 4.1. Summary
  • 4.2. Quality of life, R&D, and the innovativeness of cities
    • 4.2.1. Explaining the number of scientific citations
    • 4.2.2. Explaining the number of patents
  • 4.3. Quality of life, income and knowledge workers
  • 4.4. Quality of life, knowledge workers, and the high-tech industry
  • 4.5. Quality of life and R&D productivity
• 5. Conclusion
  • 5.1. Quality of life and innovativeness are connected
  • 5.2. Validity of study
    • 5.2.1. Sample size
    • 5.2.2. Regional vs. city level data
    • 5.2.3. Quality of life-subjective vs. objective criteria
    • 5.2.4. Educational level
    • 5.2.5. Research and development spending
    • 5.2.6. Direction of causality
  • 5.3. Implications and Recommendations
    • 5.3.1. Stop attracting companies by monetary means
    • 5.3.2. Invest in quality of life
    • 5.3.3. Create a learning environment
  • 5.4. Areas for further research

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

The study investigates the connection between quality of life, human capital, and the innovativeness of European cities. The goal is to determine how a city's quality of life influences its ability to attract and retain knowledge workers, which in turn affects the knowledge intensity of the local industry and the level of innovation. * **Quality of life and its influence on human capital attraction** * **The role of knowledge workers in driving innovation** * **The impact of knowledge spillovers on competitiveness** * **The relationship between quality of life and R&D productivity** * **Policy implications for fostering innovation in European cities**

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1: Introduction provides background information, outlines the study's goal and hypothesis, describes the research concept, and presents the report structure.
• Chapter 2: Human Capital Attraction Theory explores the significance of knowledge in the 21st century, highlighting the central role of human capital and the "war for talent." The chapter connects the attractiveness of locations to the knowledge base, discussing the relationship between the knowledge intensity of industry and innovation.
• Chapter 3: Research and Study Design presents the theoretical concept, evidence from US cities, data collection methods, and the model used to analyze the relationships between quality of life, human capital, and innovativeness. It also defines the independent, dependent, intermediary, and interfering variables used in the study.
• Chapter 4: Findings presents the study's results. It examines the correlation between quality of life and innovativeness measures, investigates the effects of environmental conditions and education on scientific citations and patents, and analyzes the relationship between quality of life, income, and knowledge workers.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The research focuses on the crucial role of human capital and knowledge workers in driving innovation in European cities. The study examines the impact of quality of life, knowledge spillovers, and R&D productivity on the competitiveness and innovativeness of cities. Key terms include: quality of life, human capital, knowledge workers, innovation, knowledge spillovers, R&D, competitiveness, European cities.

• Hochschule: Fachhochschule Kufstein Tirol (International Business Studies)
• Note: Sehr Gut
• Autor: Roland Spitzlinger (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2003
• Seiten: 73
• Katalognummer: V151236
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640630356
• ISBN (Buch): 9783640630714
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: innovation, cities, quality of life, human capital, knowledge economy, Florida