Knowledge and urban economic development: An evolutionary perspective

Knowledge is considered as a main source of economic growth for nations and regions. It is the basis for technological development and for increasing the productivity of capital and labour. This paper explores the question whether urban regions offer effective contexts for the development of knowledge. Actors and selection environments have an interactive relation in which actors learn in a cumulative way. In this paper, the primary focus is on entrepreneurs as actors in an evolutionary process where three kinds of competency enable them to compete successfully: cognitive, innovative and organisational competencies. These are influenced by three kinds of selection environment: institutions, markets and the spatial structure. Not only entrepreneurs, but also governments and scientific organisations can influence the regional innovation system. Although there is a certain path-dependency, in economic development, regional economic growth cannot be completely determined by policy, because it rests on a continuous learning process and on the strategic behaviour of actors. Regional policy, however, can nurture this process, using the opportunities of specialisation.