Intagible assets and local economic performance

The thesis is aimed at the empirical investigation of the role of intangible assets, in particular human and social capital, as relevant determinants of local economic performances. Traditional theories of economic growth, focusing on the role of physical capital as fundamental engine of economic growth, have failed to explain much of the differences in the level of income and development among regions and countries. The direct consequence of this evidence was the increasing effort in identifying alternative mechanisms and determinants. In line with this trend the role of intangible assets as determinants of economic outcomes has recently gained increasing importance in the economic literature. However, the empirical evidence remains limited and controversial. The thesis aims at filling this gap by developing a sound analytical framework and robust empirical strategies for the assessment of the potential economic dividend of soft factors. The analysis is developed through three independent and original papers grounded into different streams of literature and covering in a consistent manner a variety of contributions: from traditional economic theory on the role of human capital and externalities as main source of endogenous growth (Romer, 1986, Lucas, 1988), to the theory and empirics of social capital (Putnam, 1990, Granovetter, 1973, Keefer and Knack, 1997) and some more recent contributions regarding the role of migration and human capital externalities externalities ( Breschi and Lissoni, 2000, Moretti, 2004, Duranton, 2007, Faggian, McCann, 2006, 2009). In each of the three papers the empirical investigation is provided building on different econometric techniques (cross section, first difference, panel data, instrumental variables) coherently with the underlying research questions, theoretical motivations and characteristics of the available data.The papers provide robust empirical evidences in support of the hypothesis regarding the relevant role of intangible assets as crucial determinant of the economic and innovative performance of local areas. The main findings are consistent over changes in the geographical unit of analysis and methodological settings.