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How does municipal governance structure affect innovation and knowledge diffusion? Evidence from U.S. metro areas

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Listed:
  • Gary A. Wagner

    (University of Louisiana at Lafayette)

  • Timothy M. Komarek

    (Old Dominion University)

Abstract

As declining state and federal aid forces regional governments to become more self-reliant, there is new interest in understanding factors that support regional resilience to economic and natural disasters. Using a sample of 365 metropolitan statistical areas, we examine one such factor: how regional government fragmentation shapes patented innovation, a known mechanism for bolstering resilience. While we find no evidence that the number of general-purpose governments (per capita) impact regional innovation, we do find that regions with a higher density of special-purpose governments have less inclusive innovation. This is true in terms both of who does the inventing and what is invented. Previous research links higher numbers of special-purpose government units to weaker economic performance; our results suggest higher numbers may also hinder regions’ abilities to adapt to disruptions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gary A. Wagner & Timothy M. Komarek, 2023. "How does municipal governance structure affect innovation and knowledge diffusion? Evidence from U.S. metro areas," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 287-330, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ecogov:v:24:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10101-022-00286-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10101-022-00286-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Joshua C. Hall & Michael C. Carroll & Yang Zhou, 2023. "Crises and Community Resilience: Introduction to the Special Issue," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 259-261, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fragmentation; Polycentricity; Regional resilience; Innovation; Economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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