Full Citation

Title: University Research and Regional Development: Evidence from American Agriculture

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2014

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Abstract: Do local effects of university research 100 years ago remain today? Because the nature of scale economies in idea discovery and learning are unclear we do not know. We use the establishment of agricultural experiment stations in the late 19th century to provide an answer. Our analysis of country-level agricultural census data from 1870 to 2000 reveals station establishment increased local land productivity over the medium term. Peak effects imply land a standard deviation closer to university research became 36% more productive. While average proximity effects disappear 30 to 50 years after station opening, they remain today where stations focused on basic research and farmers were not producing with frontier technology.

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Authors: Whalley, Alexander; Kantor, Shawn

Publisher: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Education, Other

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