Arctic’s knowledge economy: Spatial patterns of knowledge and technology production in the Arctic

This paper focuses on ‘other,’ i.e. non-resource, non-public sector and non-subsistence economies of the Arctic. We investigate the geography and assets of the Arctic’s knowledge sector by examining both supply and output side of the knowledge production at the circumpolar and regional scales (using Alaska as a case study). In other words, this paper provides a first-cut analysis of the “Arctic variety” of the knowledge economy. We find that the Arctic has variable endowment with human capital engaged in new knowledge generation. Clusters of high knowledge potential tend to locate in larger cities and regional capitals. An analysis of patent registration in Alaska, confirms this pattern, but also reveals a complicated and evolving picture of localized innovation. Alaska demonstrates limited, albeit growing, variety knowledge-producing sectors, a strong role of individual inventors and a weak connectivity with outside knowledge clusters. It is also evident that knowledge production in the Arctic has underdeveloped circumpolar linkages, and thus requires urgent efforts to stimulate research cooperation between private and public sector inventors in the Arctic jurisdictions.