Innovation Networks for Regional Development
Concepts, Case Studies, and Agent-Based Models

Editors: Ben Vermeulen, Manfred Paier



Takes multi-disciplinary perspective on regional development and the role of networks therein

Includes methodological advances in agent-based modelling in economics research and policy experimentation

Features both fundamental as well as industry-specific, 'narrative' agent-based simulation models

Contains detailed case studies for automotive, aerospace, life science, biotechnology, and public health sectors

This book brings together original research on the role of networks in regional economic development and innovation. It presents a comprehensive framework synthesizing extant theories, a palette of real-world cases in the aerospace, automotive, life science, biotechnology and health care industries, and fundamental agent-based computer models elucidating the relation between regional development and network dynamics.

The book is primarily intended for researchers in the fields of innovation economics and evolutionary economic geography, and particularly those interested in using agent-based models and empirical case studies. However, it also targets (regional) innovation policy makers who are not only interested in policy recommendations, but also want to understand the state-of-the-art agent-based modeling methods used to experimentally arrive at said recommendations.

Table of contents

Front Matter

Innovation Networks for Regional Development. Overview and Contributions

Conceptual Approaches and Case Studies
• Front Matter
• The Evolution of Aerospace R&D Collaboration Networks on the European, National and Regional Levels
• The Knowledge-Base of the Stuttgart Automobile Industry and Its Outreach
• The Local Perspective on Energy Transition and Innovation
• A Process Model of Invention and the Role of Government, Institutions, and Geography. Anecdotal Evidence from the Aerospace Industry in the Years 1800–1950
• A Descriptive Statistics Exploration of Spatio-temporal Patterns in Inventive Activities in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Methodological Advances and Agent-Based Models
• Front Matter
• Knowledge Creation and Research Policy in Science-Based Industries: An Empirical Agent-Based Model
• Regional Innovation Systems: An Agent-Based Laboratory for Policy Advice
• Using Participatory Modeling to Enable Local Innovation Through Complexity Governance
• Regional Specialization and Knowledge Output: An Agent-Based Simulation of the Vienna Life Sciences
• Competition in the German Market for Retail Electricity: An Agent-Based Simulation
• Supraregional Relationships and Technology Development. A Spatial Agent-Based Model Study
• Innovation Networks to Cope with the Geographical Distribution of Technological Knowledge. An Empirically Calibrated Spatial Agent-Based Model Study