Topic: Are Cities Losing Innovation Advantages? Online versus Face-to-face Interactions


Speaker: Huang Naqun, Nanjing Audit University, Assistant Professor.


Time: April 11, 2024, 15:30


Venue: EMS 440

Abstract: How did COVID-19 affect the innovation advantages of dense locations? Using data on the universe of U.S. patent applications, we find that the density premium in the production of novel inventions declined by 18.5%-22.9% in 2020-2021 relative to its pre-pandemic level. Smartphone data on local mobility suggest that the drop in the frequency of local interactions can explain a significant portion of this effect. While COVID-19 resulted in a temporary setback in the innovation advantages of dense locations, the role of urban density in facilitating the exchange and recombination of ideas is unlikely to be persistently replaced by online communication.

Guest Bio: Huang Naqun, Assistant Professor and Master's Supervisor at Nanjing Audit University. She obtained her Doctorate in Economics from Singapore Management University in 2017. Her main research focus is on urban economics. Her research findings have been published in journals such as the Journal of Urban Economics, Economic Inquiry, Regional Science and Urban Economics, China Economic Review, Economic Modelling, and the Journal of Housing Economics. She is also the principal investigator of a Young Scientists Fund project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.