What Do We Know about the University Contribution to Regional Economic Development? A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

There are a rapidly growing number of scientific studies analyzing the role of university and higher educational institutions in regional economic development. In this study, the author reviews the rapidly growing body of research streaming out of the geography of innovation and knowledge with particular attention to the period from 1994 to 2019. The author discusses several seminal contributions on the role of universities in regional economic development and then applies a systematic literature review to the extant research of 193 articles. This literature review offers a conceptual framework by identifying four key topics found in the literature: organizational capacity, intermediaries, knowledge dynamics, and policy.