Title:
Firm strategies in scientific labor markets

dc.contributor.advisor Clark, Jennifer
dc.contributor.author Bandyopadhyay, Kirsten Analise
dc.contributor.committeeMember Kingsley, Gordon
dc.contributor.committeeMember Knox-Hayes, Janelle
dc.contributor.committeeMember Shelley, Fred
dc.contributor.committeeMember Barke, Richard
dc.contributor.department Public Policy
dc.date.accessioned 2015-06-08T18:09:31Z
dc.date.available 2015-06-08T18:09:31Z
dc.date.created 2015-05
dc.date.issued 2015-04-01
dc.date.submitted May 2015
dc.date.updated 2015-06-08T18:09:31Z
dc.description.abstract This dissertation expands on the economic geography literature on how and why innovation clusters spatially by taking a closer look at two correlated phenomena: regional specialization and firm clustering. While existing studies note that innovative regions are often highly specialized and highly clustered, further research is needed on the relative contributions of specialization and clustering to regional innovation. I examine these contributions by focusing on one key element of any regional innovation project: the labor market for scientific and technical professionals. The foundation for this study is a typology of regions based on regional specialization and firm clustering. I use this typology to answer one key research question: how specialization and clustering affect wages and recruitment methods in science-based industries. I create my typology using firm location data from the Photonics Buyers’ Guide, a leading trade publication in the photonics industry; I use the standardized location quotient and the average nearest neighbor distance as metrics of regional specialization and firm clustering, respectively. I investigate small firms’ labor market strategies using job search and wage data from the 2011 and 2012 SPIE salary surveys of employees in the photonics industry. I also examine how people-based and place-based policies for strengthening scientific and technical labor markets change when viewed through the lens of specialization and clustering. I selected the photonics industry as an example of a science-based industry for three reasons: its diversity of applications, its policy importance, and its unique colocation of design and manufacturing. Regional specialization and firm clustering, while correlated, do not always go hand in hand. By disentangling the effects of specialization versus clustering, this dissertation contributes to the literature on the spatial analysis of innovation. It also offers policymakers a heuristic for deciding on the importance of being known for a particular industry (regional specialization) and creating dense innovation districts (firm clusters) through preferential zoning or other mechanisms.
dc.description.degree Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53386
dc.language.iso en_US
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject Economic geography
dc.subject Agglomeration
dc.subject Science and technology policy
dc.subject Labor markets
dc.subject Specialization
dc.subject Clustering
dc.subject Photonics
dc.title Firm strategies in scientific labor markets
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename School of Public Policy
local.contributor.corporatename Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication a3789037-aec2-41bb-9888-1a95104b7f8c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication b1049ff1-5166-442c-9e14-ad804b064e38
thesis.degree.level Doctoral
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