Knowledge shocks diffusion and the resilience of regional inequality

This paper provides a simplified method of exploring the geographical limits of a knowledge shock over the long run. Using a geographically decomposable distance weighed sum of world GDPs by county, differences in differences regression analysis shows that a new university will not only have a positive impact on the local economy, but also on the GDP of nearby counties. Furthermore, challenging the conventional wisdom that knowledge spillovers affect the local economy, this study provides evidence that the effect expands to the whole national though its strength dilutes with distance. Consistent with the education literature, this investigation provides evidence that the shock will make the relative GDP of foreign competitors worse-off. Results are persistent in the long run, although the effect of time is also decreasing. Resultsare robust to potential endogeneity related to the self-selection of prosperous allocations for new academic institutions.I am grateful to the participants of the 10th SOUND Economic History Workshop for all their useful comments and questions and to Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for providing funds to perform this research project