Recent Research: How Do New University Departments Affect the Knowledge Production in a Region?

In the quest for a region to become more innovative or attain higher levels of degree attainment, expanding the size of existing education institutions or increasing the number of community colleges and universities seems to be a somewhat practical strategy. But how long after these institutions are created or expanded do they produce a measurable impact on a region’s innovation environment?

 

Some recent research by Robin Cowan and Natalia Zinovyeva attempts to chip away at this question, analyzing the effects of new science, engineering and medical departments at Italian universities created between 1985-2000. In Short Term Effects of New Universities on Regional Innovation, Cowan and Zinovyeva track the number, as well as the quality of patents and publications produced within a region in the years following the establishment of a department. They find the number of patent applications in a region from faculty generally increases (although not significant statistically) two years after a department is created. Two years later, or 3-4 years after a department is established, the number of patent applications from industry significantly increases. On average, the authors assert, one new department leads to a 10 percent boost in industrial patent activity within a region.

 

Using another metric to measure knowledge production, their research found that the number of academic publications in international journals rose 3-4 years after the founding of a department. Cowan and Zinovyeya speculate that, since it takes a year or two between a paper’s submission and publication, the positive effect on the amount of scientific research within a region is already occurring after one or two years of a department’s creation.

 

They also look at the quality of both academic and industrial patents – as gauged by the total number of received citations per patent – and conclude the establishment of departments does not effect the quality of patents in the short run, which is a four-year period.

 

Another effect of a new department that can have an economic impact is the creation of new graduates in a certain field, but these gains would only be attained 4-5 years after the department’s establishment. Cowan and Zinovyeya’s research shows that some noticeable effects from expanding a university may be realized within a smaller timeframe of 4-5 years.

 

Short Term Effects of New Universities on Regional Innovation can be downloaded at:

http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2007/wp2007-037.pdf