Title: Knowledge economy and metropolitan growth: Barcelona and Helsinki metropolitan areas as case studies

Authors: Juan Eduardo Chica; Carlos Marmolejo

Addresses: Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Av.Diagonal 649, 4th floor, C.P. 08028 Barcelona, Spain ' Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Av.Diagonal 649, 4th floor, C.P. 08028 Barcelona, Spain

Abstract: The knowledge-based industries (KBI) involve the transformation of workers' skills, which requires a constant spatial interaction. This means frequent face-to-face contacts. Agglomeration economies and innovation dynamics found in large cities are determining factors for knowledge economy growth. This paper analyses how close proximity to metropolitan cores encourage location patterns of KBI employment. This phenomenon is studied in the Barcelona and Helsinki metropolitan areas by analysing KBI employment pattern distributions and modelling the effects of the distance to the metropolitan cores in KBI employment density. The results show that the employment growth of knowledge industries in both metropolitan areas retains concentration patterns instead of suburbanisation patterns. Hence, physical proximity to the metropolitan cores becomes a determining factor in KBI employment growth.

Keywords: knowledge economy; externalities; metropolitan growth; geographical proximity; Helsinki Metropolitan Area; HMA; Barcelona Metropolitan Area; BMA; case studies; Finland; Spain; knowledge-based industries; KBI employment growth; metropolitan cores; location patterns; employment patterns; modelling; concentration patterns; suburbanisation patterns.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKBD.2016.075436

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2016 Vol.7 No.1, pp.22 - 42

Received: 29 Jan 2015
Accepted: 03 Nov 2015

Published online: 22 Mar 2016 *

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