Tech Firm Births and Agglomeration Economies: (Un)Related Variety, Specialization, and Spatial Externalities

Published in Cities, 2023

Core contribution: This article treats tech firm births as the outcome of differentiated knowledge proximity rather than generic agglomeration. It separates related variety, unrelated variety, specialization, and spatial externalities to show that different forms of local and neighboring knowledge environments support startup formation in different ways.

Highlights
  • Separates agglomeration economies into related variety, unrelated variety, specialization, and spatial externalities.
  • Frames tech firm births as a knowledge-proximity process.
  • Distinguishes local spillovers from neighboring-area spillovers.
  • Shows why innovation policy should match the type of knowledge environment rather than simply maximize density.
Conceptual poster showing tech firm births driven by knowledge proximity and agglomeration economies
Graphical abstract