Denna studie handlar om framtiden för Borås. Den gör det för att dess tema gäller högskolans roll som en central komponent i en kunskapsproducerande ekonomi med global räckvidd. I studien analyseras hur kunskap sprids från utbildnings- och forskningsverksamheten vid Högskolan i Borås till det omgivande samhället samt betydelsen av olika kunskapsspridningsmekaismer. Syftet är att öka förståelsen av högskolans roll för kompetensförsörjning, forskning och samverkan i en regional kontext. Studiens bakgrund är ett tilltagande behov att förstå och förklara hur kunskap sprids och spiller över från universitet och högskolor samt den långsiktiga betydelsen av högre lärosäten för kompetensförsörjning och regional utveckling. För planerare och beslutsfattare kan studien ligga till grund för diskussioner och planeringsarbete om hur främja högskolans roll som motor i en kunskapsdriven ekonomi.En slutsats av den förhållandevis omfattande genomgång som studien görs av utbildning, forskning och samverkan vid Högskolan i Borås är att högskolan uppvisar förhållanden som liknar de som gäller vid andra regionala högskolor i landet. Studenterna sätter sin prägel på stads- och kulturliv. Högskolan framstår som väl etablerad på sin ort. Detta lägger en grund för ekonomisk tillväxt och utveckling. Man behöver dock förbättra det strategiska arbetet med att få fler att stanna kvar, inte minst bland dem med utbildning och kunskap utanför välfärdsrelaterade yrken. Bland dem med utbildning och kunskap typisk inom innovationsrelaterat arbete samt teknisk forskning och utveckling är det relativt få som stannar kvar. För att få studenterna att stanna kvar efter avslutad måste förutsättningarna stärkas för karriärer inom yrken med krav på (fördjupad) högskolekompetens.För att detta ska vara möjligt krävs ett långsiktigt och gränsöverskridande arbete som involverar högskolan, företag, entreprenörer och offentliga arbetsgivare samt planerare och beslutsfattare på lokal, regional och nationell nivå. Ett lyckosamt ett exempel på ett sådant arbete är satsningen Smart Textiles. Man behöver dock ett bredare och mer omfattande engagemang. En central fråga i ett sådant arbete är hur långt man kommit i att främja ett närings- och arbetsliv som skapar en kompetensmultiplikator till nytta för den ekonomiska utvecklingen på längre sikt. En annan fråga är hur kunskapsnyttor från forskningsverksamheten vid Högskolan i Borås kan få ännu större spridning och förankring i regionen.För att komma vidare på det spåret behövs en kritisk granskning från universitetsledningen av hur man ska förhålla sig till frågan om konkurrens eller samverkan mellan universiteten i Västra Götaland. Vid strategivalet kring Högskolan i Jönköping eller som lärosätet nu heter Jönköping University har frågan om lokal förankring eller internationell positionering varit av central betydelse. Det ambitiösa valet att satsa på det internationella spåret och göra hela Jönköping University internationellt har inte skett utan motsättningar och svårigheter.

This study investigates labour mobility flows between foreign firms and domestic employers in Sweden, which is done from the perspective that inter-firm mobility is a potential source of spillovers from FDI. After reviewing related literature, the study identifies potential knowledge spillover agents and examines the spatial extent of labour mobility patterns within and between 72 functional local labour market regions, including the effect of distance. Empirical results are provided on the frequency and relative importance of spillover agents across Sweden. Although the study neither provides any final answer for the underlying reasons for these flows nor their effect on domestic firms or local economies, which are questions left for future studies, it argues that the spatial dimension may have important implications for spillover effects to arise.

This study makes use of a unique micro-database on research performed at the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT) radar system to provide some new perspectives on interregional and international knowledge trade as regards theory, empirics and practice. More broadly, the study examines the economic and societal importance of EISCAT in a spatial context from the perspective of inter-regional trade of knowledge. The fundamental research question is whether the establishment of such scientific infrastructure leads to clustering of related activities in proximity to its location or whether they are spread world-wide independently of the location. We aim to illustrate this question with regard to how inter-regional trade in a research-based knowledge system is fashioned. This is also relevant considering the projected investment in a novel EISCAT system, and prior studies emphasizing that highly-skilled professionals are vital in the knowledge-driven economy, influencing the global dynamics of science-based industries and regions.

Over the last three decades, the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT) has provided the scientific community with outstanding high-latitude data for research on the lower, middle and upper atmosphere and ionosphere using the incoherent scatter radar technique. The research facilities are located north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, Norway, Sweden and on Svalbard, and have since they first were taken into operation in August 1981 contributed a remarkable scientific output. This research has contributed to the understanding of different space and atmospheric phenomena and opened up and to several new fields of research. EISCAT is currently planning the next generation research facility, EISCAT_3D, which is an projected investment of more than 1,1 billion SEK (135 million €) with planned start of construction in 2015, first operations in 2018, and to be in full operation 2021. EISCAT_3D is anticipated to provide researchers with opportunities to conduct novel scientific experiments that may shift the frontiers in several scientific disciplines, but may also be utilized to develop services with specific societal values, see Kero et al. (2013). 

This study examines the economic and societal importance of EISCAT in a spatial context. The results indicate that EISCAT generates minor purely economic effects but contributes to strengthening the regional competitiveness and attractiveness, mainly though a remarkable scientific output and extra-regional linkages which enable continual renewal and dynamism of local knowledge. EISCAT has also implied a large injection of research funding to the region. It is argued ESICAT should not only be considered as a research facility with great scientific value but also as an interconnecting infrastructure and organisation in value creating knowledge networks with global reach. The study suggests that EISCAT_3D is an investment with many important potential implications but that the related development work needs to carefully consider how to promote a high level of absorptive capacity among organisations with related activities. It is obvious that a proactive work and cooperation with national, regional and local actors will impact a full range of benefits from EISCAT_3D.

This study investigates factors determining the location of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Sweden. The main purpose is to examine the link between FDI and public incentives, in the form of regional grants, which make up a central part of the Swedish regional policy and state expenditures that explicitly addresses regional development. Our main finding is that there is no evidence of a robust relationship between grants and the location of FDI. However, a statistically significant effect is found for investment support and transport allowance, which are grants that aims at promoting development in designated areas. This by supporting investments in machines, buildings, and so on, and offset costs disadvantages in the northern parts of the country. We conclude that a better integration between the work on FDI and regional development may be a plausible route to promote economic development in Sweden, particularly in deprived regions.

This study investigates the relationship between different types of human capital (HC) and the location of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sweden, over the period 2002-2009. The purpose is to examine how firm-specific, industrial-specific, and occupational-specific HC influence the location of FDI in high technology industries and knowledge based services, among other factors that featured prominently in preceding FDI location work. Conditional logit estimates indicate that all types of HC are important but that occupational-specific HC appears to be key in attracting foreign firms in knowledge intensive production. This result emphasise the importance of highly skilled professionals, whose knowledge is relatively easily transferred across industry and firm settings. Other results largely uphold the basic tenets and empirical results in prior FDI location work.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how human capital influences the regional distribution of Greenfield investments. The research strategy is to classify employees into different occupational groups based on their knowledge and skills, and examine how the regional distribution of human capital influences the probability of a region receiving new foreign start-ups. The relationship between multinationals´ location choice and human capital is studied on a population of new foreign start-ups in business services that established in Sweden between 2001 and 2008.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how different host-economic attributes are associated with the location patterns of new foreign establishments in the tertiary sector. It investigates Greenfield investments made in Sweden between 2001 and 2007 and how these are related to different host-economic attributes. The aim is to analyze how regional characteristics are associated to differences in how regions succeed to attract foreign investors. Three groups of factors, i.e. agglomeration economies, market potentials and factor endowment are tested empirically in a negative binomial regression model. The principal contributions are insights in the application of regional determinants on foreign start-ups in tertiary industries and how different professionals play a role in firms´ location decisions. The results indicate that non-price benefits from urban economies, accessibility to specialized professionals and local market size play an important role in firms´ location decision. Professionals with technical knowledge are the most required type of personnel. The relevance of the applied model varies between different industries within the tertiary sector. It seems to be most relevant for market knowledge intensive services and least relevant for firms in energy.