Abstract

High-skilled workers foster the transfer of knowledge and support the introduction of new technologies. Hereby they increase the productivity of surrounding workers. Economists refer to this phenomenon as human capital externalities. The research project uses georeferenced data to compute the reach and attenuation of these human capital externalities. Precise geo-data enable us to determine the concentration of high-skilled workers within varying distances around workplaces. Using this information, we calculate the intensity and reach of human capital externalities. We expect to find that externalities decrease with distance. Additionally, the data generated during the project is used to explore the distribution of high-skilled workers within cities and counties.