Key areas of ongoing research

Innovation and regional economic development - My research looks at the territorial factors that shape the generation of innovation and its translation into regional and urban economic dynamism in developed and emerging countries. This line of research aims to single out the territorial drivers of innovation in a variety of developmental contexts. Existing and on-going research has covered Europe, the United States, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Russia and new work is now looking at Africa as well. This stream of research also looks at the dynamic adjustment of innovation drivers in geographical space. Policy-makers at all levels see the attraction of both innovative firms and highly skilled individuals as a necessary condition for local economic development. However, very little systemic research has been devoted to the assessment of the impacts of these mobility patterns on local economic performance. In response to this my ongoing research looks at: a) the impact of inventors’ internal and international mobility on the innovative performance of local firms (and firm-level productivity); b) the mobility of capital in the form of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) location decisions.
Key Recent Publications:
Crescenzi R. and Jaax A., "Innovation in Russia: the territorial dimension", Economic Geography, 93:1, 66-88, 2017, DOI: 10.1080/00130095.2016.1208532
Charlot S., Crescenzi R. & Musolesi A. "Econometric Modelling of the Regional Knowledge Production Function in Europe”, Journal of Economic Geography,15(6), 1227-1259, 2015, doi: 10.1093/jeg/lbu035
Crescenzi R., Rodríguez-Pose A. & Storper M. “The territorial dynamics of innovation in China and India”, Journal of Economic Geography, 12, 1055–1085, 2012

Policy formation and evaluation - The research looks at the impact and structure of regional and local economic development policies with special reference to European Union (EU) policies. The analysis of the structure of public policies aims to assess the role of political processes in the allocation of funds to the regions and capture the potential diversion of resources away from the most disadvantaged areas. In addition, I have done work on impact of the EU Cohesion Policy on innovation, growth and employment. The emphasis of my work is on the factors conditioning the success and failure of regional policies in different areas.
Key Recent Publications:
Crescenzi R. and Giua M., "The EU Cohesion policy in context: Does a bottom-up approach work in all regions?", Environment and Planning A, 48(11), 2340–2357, 2016, DOI: 10.1177/0308518X16658291
Crescenzi R., De Filippis F. & Pierangeli F. “In tandem for cohesion? Synergies and conflicts between regional and agricultural policies of the European Union”, Regional Studies, 49 (4), 2015 doi:10.1080/00343404.2014.946401

Multinationals, Innovation and Regional Development - The global networks formed by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are among the most relevant forces currently shaping the world economic geography. Policy makers in virtually all countries and regions have adopted a variety of measures and incentives to attract MNEs and their subsidiaries. At the same time they support the internationalisation of domestic firms, in order to boost local employment, productivity, and innovation. However, there is no consensus in the academic literature on both the factors shaping the location decisions of MNEs and, more generally, on the ultimate impact of MNEs on their host economies. My research is investigating the location strategies of MNEs and their territorial impacts, shedding new light on the factors shaping the economic geography of MNEs and providing policy-makers at all levels with new tools to promote innovation, employment, and economic recovery after the current economic crisis in advanced and emerging economies.
Key Recent Publications:
Crescenzi R. and Iammarino S., "Global Investments and Regional Development Trajectories: the Missing Links", Regional Studies, 51(1), 97-115, 2017, DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2016.1262016
Ascani, A., Crescenzi, R., Iammarino, S. "Economic Institutions and the Location Strategies of European Multinationals in their Geographical Neighbourhood", Economic Geography, 92:4, 401-429, 2016 DOI:10.1080/00130095.2016.1179570
Crescenzi R., Pietrobelli C. & Rabellotti R. “Innovation Drivers, Value Chains and the Geography of Multinational Corporations in Europe”, Journal of Economic Geography, 14 (6), 1053-1086, 2014, doi:10.1093/jeg/lbt018