Max Nathan
Biographic Data
| ID | 3590337 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Max Nathan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Max |
| FAMILY NAME | Nathan |
| SIGNATURE | NATHAN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | London School of Economics and Political Science |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4617-4300 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 119 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Don't Shoot the Pianist: Creative Firms, Workers, and Neighborhood Gentrification
We examine links between creative activity and gentrification at the neighborhood level. These dynamics are both complex and important to understand. Artists may help upgrade inexpensive neighborhoods before being displaced, including by higher-paid creative services workers. Alternatively, creative activity may follow patterns of high-income customers and locales. Many city leaders hope creative industries can drive urban growth while worrying a…
The What Works Centres: Lessons and Insights from an Evidence Movement
Leaders, researchers and practitioners from the UK 'What Works Network' share their insights on the successes, failures, and future of the What Works Centres, which have proven successful and popular across a number of policy settings.
The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth: Some Lessons From the First Ten Years
I wrote yesterday about the problem with Portas Pilots, arguing that the way the scheme was implemented will make it almost impossible to figure out whether the projects actually have an impact. This is just one example of a more general failure - government is often very bad at generating convincing evaluation evidence and (arguably) even worse at using that evidence to inform policy making. Could a NICE for social policy help fix this? It appea…
Modeling clusters from the ground up: A web data approach
This paper proposes a new methodological framework to identify economic clusters over space and time. We employ a unique open source dataset of geolocated and archived business webpages and interrogate them using Natural Language Processing to build bottom-up classifications of economic activities. We validate our method on an iconic UK tech cluster – Shoreditch, East London. We benchmark our results against existing case studies and administrati…
Critical Commentary: The city and the virus
Cities around the world are the epicentres of the coronavirus pandemic: both in the first wave, as the disease spread from East Asia, and now, as many countries enter a third wave of infections. These spatial patterns are still far from properly understood, though there is no shortage of possible explanations. I set out the emerging theories about cities’ role in the spread of coronavirus, testing these against existing studies and new analysis f…
Creative Clusters and Creative Multipliers: Evidence from UK Cities
Economic geographers have paid much attention to the cultural and creative industries, both for their propensity to cluster in urban settings, and their potential to drive urban economic development. However, evidence on the latter is surprisingly sparse. In this article, we explore the long-term, causal impacts of the cultural and creative industries on surrounding urban economies. Adapting Moretti’s local multipliers framework, we build a new t…
The Urban Economics of Superdiversity
This chapter examines the economic impacts of superdiversity in theory and practice, drawing on the experience of the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. Superdiversity has a largely urban footprint, reflecting the affordances of big cities and the deep history of the “multicultural city.” The chapter builds a simple framework to illustrate superdiversity’s economic effects on production and consumption systems and the roles of (a) higher-skilled …
Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development
We combine theory and evidence on incubator and accelerator programmes and their effects on urban economic development. These structured co-working programmes have grown rapidly. However, a rich descriptive literature reveals little about their impact on participants or surrounding urban areas. We situate programmes in a conceptual framework of co-location tools, theorise objectives and benefits and report findings from systematic, OECD-wide revi…
Will coronavirus cause a big city exodus
Big cities thrive because of the economic and social benefits of proximity – but proximity also helps to spread COVID-19. Does this mean an end to the big city revival of recent years, or do vaccines herald a return to normality? Much will depend on how far the forced experiments of lockdown translate into new norms, write Henry Overman (LSE) and Max Nathan (UCL)
Creative differences? Measuring creative economy employment in the United States and the UK
This paper compares the creative economies of the US and the UK regions and nations using high-quality administrative microdata spanning the period 2011–13. The creative industries are highly urbanized in both countries. However, important differences are found in the size, density and diversity of creative activity between the two countries, which reflect differences in both urban systems and industrial organization. By testing the ‘Creative Tri…
Spatial Imaginaries and Tech Cities: Place-branding East London’s digital economy
We explore place branding as an economic development strategy for technology clusters, using London's 'Tech City' initiative as a case study. We site place branding in a larger family of policies that develop spatial imaginaries, and specify affordances and constraints on place brands and brand-led strategies. Using mixed methods over a long timeframe, we analyse Tech City's emergence and the overlapping, competing narratives that preceded and su…
Do inventors talk to strangers? On proximity and collaborative knowledge creation
This paper examines the characteristics of the collaborations between inventors in the United Kingdom (UK) by looking at what types of proximities – geographic, organisational, cognitive, social, and cultural–ethnic – between inventors are prevalent in partnerships that ultimately lead to technological progress. Using a new panel of UK inventors this paper provides an analysis of associations between these ‘proximities’ and co-patenting. The resu…
Ethnic diversity and business performance: Which firms? Which cities
A growing literature examines how ethnic diversity influences economic outcomes in cities and inside firms. However, firm-city interactions remain more or less unexplored. Ethnic diversity may help firm performance by introducing a wider range of ideas, improving scrutiny or improving international market access. Urban locations may amplify in-firm processes via agglomeration economies, externalities from urban demography or both. These firm-city…
Same difference? Minority ethnic inventors, diversity and innovation in the UK
Minority ethnic inventors play important roles in US innovation, especially in high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley. Do 'ethnicity-innovation' channels exist elsewhere? Ethnicity could influence innovation via production complementarities from diverse inventor communities, co-ethnic network externalities or individual 'stars'. I explore these issues using new UK patents microdata and a novel name-classification system. UK minority ethnic inve…
Here Be Startups: Exploring London's 'Tech City' Digital Cluster
The digital industries cluster known as Silicon Roundabout has been quietly growing in East London since the 1990s. Rebranded Tech City, it is the focus of huge public and government attention. National and local policy makers wish to accelerate the local area's development: such cluster policies are back in vogue as part of a reawakened interest in industrial policy. Surprisingly little is known about Tech City's firms or the wider ecosystem, ho…
The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: A Survey of the Literature for Receiving Countries
In recent years, the economics of migration literature has shown a substantial growth in papers exploring host country impacts beyond the labour market. Specifically, researchers have begun to shift their attention from labour market and fiscal changes, towards exploring what we might call 'the wider effects of migration' on the production and consumption sides of the economy - and the role of high-skilled migrants in these processes. This paper …
Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London
A growing body of research is making links between diversity and the economic performance of cities and regions. Most of the underlying mechanisms take place within firms, but only a handful of organization-level studies have been conducted. We contribute to this underexplored literature by using a unique sample of 7,600 firms to investigate links among cultural diversity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sales strategies in London businesses be…
After Florida: Towards an economics of diversity
In recent years, most European countries have experienced substantial demographic changes and rising cultural diversity. Understanding the social and economic impacts of these shifts is a major challenge for policymakers. Richard Florida’s ideas have provided a popular – and pervasive – framework for doing so. This paper assess Florida’s legacy and sets out a ‘post-Florida’ framework for ‘technology, talent and tolerance’ research. The paper firs…
Creative Class Theory and Economic Performance in UK Cities
Richard Florida’s ‘creative class’ theory suggests that diverse, tolerant, ‘cool’ cities will outperform others. Ethnic minorities, gay people, and counter-culturalists attract high-skilled professionals: the presence of this ‘creative class’ ensures cities get the best jobs and most dynamic companies. This chapter examines Florida’s ideas, focusing on the evidence in British cities. Drawing on previously published work, it first tests the Florid…
The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: A Survey of the Literature for Receiving Countries
In recent years, the economics of migration literature has shown a substantial growth in papers exploring host country impacts beyond the labour market. Specifically, researchers have begun to shift their attention from labour market and fiscal changes, towards exploring what we might call 'the wider effects of migration' on the production and consumption sides of the economy - and the role of high-skilled migrants in these processes. This paper …
After Florida: Towards an economics of diversity
In recent years, most European countries have experienced substantial demographic changes and rising cultural diversity. Understanding the social and economic impacts of these shifts is a major challenge for policymakers. Richard Florida’s ideas have provided a popular – and pervasive – framework for doing so. This paper assess Florida’s legacy and sets out a ‘post-Florida’ framework for ‘technology, talent and tolerance’ research. The paper firs…
Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London
A growing body of research is making links between diversity and the economic performance of cities and regions. Most of the underlying mechanisms take place within firms, but only a handful of organization-level studies have been conducted. We contribute to this underexplored literature by using a unique sample of 7,600 firms to investigate links among cultural diversity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sales strategies in London businesses be…
Spatial Imaginaries and Tech Cities: Place-branding East London’s digital economy
We explore place branding as an economic development strategy for technology clusters, using London's 'Tech City' initiative as a case study. We site place branding in a larger family of policies that develop spatial imaginaries, and specify affordances and constraints on place brands and brand-led strategies. Using mixed methods over a long timeframe, we analyse Tech City's emergence and the overlapping, competing narratives that preceded and su…
Same difference? Minority ethnic inventors, diversity and innovation in the UK
Minority ethnic inventors play important roles in US innovation, especially in high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley. Do 'ethnicity-innovation' channels exist elsewhere? Ethnicity could influence innovation via production complementarities from diverse inventor communities, co-ethnic network externalities or individual 'stars'. I explore these issues using new UK patents microdata and a novel name-classification system. UK minority ethnic inve…
Critical Commentary: The city and the virus
Cities around the world are the epicentres of the coronavirus pandemic: both in the first wave, as the disease spread from East Asia, and now, as many countries enter a third wave of infections. These spatial patterns are still far from properly understood, though there is no shortage of possible explanations. I set out the emerging theories about cities’ role in the spread of coronavirus, testing these against existing studies and new analysis f…
Creative differences? Measuring creative economy employment in the United States and the UK
This paper compares the creative economies of the US and the UK regions and nations using high-quality administrative microdata spanning the period 2011–13. The creative industries are highly urbanized in both countries. However, important differences are found in the size, density and diversity of creative activity between the two countries, which reflect differences in both urban systems and industrial organization. By testing the ‘Creative Tri…
Ethnic diversity and business performance: Which firms? Which cities
A growing literature examines how ethnic diversity influences economic outcomes in cities and inside firms. However, firm-city interactions remain more or less unexplored. Ethnic diversity may help firm performance by introducing a wider range of ideas, improving scrutiny or improving international market access. Urban locations may amplify in-firm processes via agglomeration economies, externalities from urban demography or both. These firm-city…
Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development
We combine theory and evidence on incubator and accelerator programmes and their effects on urban economic development. These structured co-working programmes have grown rapidly. However, a rich descriptive literature reveals little about their impact on participants or surrounding urban areas. We situate programmes in a conceptual framework of co-location tools, theorise objectives and benefits and report findings from systematic, OECD-wide revi…
Here Be Startups: Exploring London's 'Tech City' Digital Cluster
The digital industries cluster known as Silicon Roundabout has been quietly growing in East London since the 1990s. Rebranded Tech City, it is the focus of huge public and government attention. National and local policy makers wish to accelerate the local area's development: such cluster policies are back in vogue as part of a reawakened interest in industrial policy. Surprisingly little is known about Tech City's firms or the wider ecosystem, ho…
Creative Clusters and Creative Multipliers: Evidence from UK Cities
Economic geographers have paid much attention to the cultural and creative industries, both for their propensity to cluster in urban settings, and their potential to drive urban economic development. However, evidence on the latter is surprisingly sparse. In this article, we explore the long-term, causal impacts of the cultural and creative industries on surrounding urban economies. Adapting Moretti’s local multipliers framework, we build a new t…
Creative Class Theory and Economic Performance in UK Cities
Richard Florida’s ‘creative class’ theory suggests that diverse, tolerant, ‘cool’ cities will outperform others. Ethnic minorities, gay people, and counter-culturalists attract high-skilled professionals: the presence of this ‘creative class’ ensures cities get the best jobs and most dynamic companies. This chapter examines Florida’s ideas, focusing on the evidence in British cities. Drawing on previously published work, it first tests the Florid…
After Florida: Towards an economics of diversity
In recent years, most European countries have experienced substantial demographic changes and rising cultural diversity. Understanding the social and economic impacts of these shifts is a major challenge for policymakers. Richard Florida’s ideas have provided a popular – and pervasive – framework for doing so. This paper assess Florida’s legacy and sets out a ‘post-Florida’ framework for ‘technology, talent and tolerance’ research. The paper firs…
Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London
A growing body of research is making links between diversity and the economic performance of cities and regions. Most of the underlying mechanisms take place within firms, but only a handful of organization-level studies have been conducted. We contribute to this underexplored literature by using a unique sample of 7,600 firms to investigate links among cultural diversity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and sales strategies in London businesses be…
Same difference? Minority ethnic inventors, diversity and innovation in the UK
Minority ethnic inventors play important roles in US innovation, especially in high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley. Do 'ethnicity-innovation' channels exist elsewhere? Ethnicity could influence innovation via production complementarities from diverse inventor communities, co-ethnic network externalities or individual 'stars'. I explore these issues using new UK patents microdata and a novel name-classification system. UK minority ethnic inve…
Here Be Startups: Exploring London's 'Tech City' Digital Cluster
The digital industries cluster known as Silicon Roundabout has been quietly growing in East London since the 1990s. Rebranded Tech City, it is the focus of huge public and government attention. National and local policy makers wish to accelerate the local area's development: such cluster policies are back in vogue as part of a reawakened interest in industrial policy. Surprisingly little is known about Tech City's firms or the wider ecosystem, ho…
The wider economic impacts of high-skilled migrants: A Survey of the Literature for Receiving Countries
In recent years, the economics of migration literature has shown a substantial growth in papers exploring host country impacts beyond the labour market. Specifically, researchers have begun to shift their attention from labour market and fiscal changes, towards exploring what we might call 'the wider effects of migration' on the production and consumption sides of the economy - and the role of high-skilled migrants in these processes. This paper …
Do inventors talk to strangers? On proximity and collaborative knowledge creation
This paper examines the characteristics of the collaborations between inventors in the United Kingdom (UK) by looking at what types of proximities – geographic, organisational, cognitive, social, and cultural–ethnic – between inventors are prevalent in partnerships that ultimately lead to technological progress. Using a new panel of UK inventors this paper provides an analysis of associations between these ‘proximities’ and co-patenting. The resu…
Ethnic diversity and business performance: Which firms? Which cities
A growing literature examines how ethnic diversity influences economic outcomes in cities and inside firms. However, firm-city interactions remain more or less unexplored. Ethnic diversity may help firm performance by introducing a wider range of ideas, improving scrutiny or improving international market access. Urban locations may amplify in-firm processes via agglomeration economies, externalities from urban demography or both. These firm-city…
Spatial Imaginaries and Tech Cities: Place-branding East London’s digital economy
We explore place branding as an economic development strategy for technology clusters, using London's 'Tech City' initiative as a case study. We site place branding in a larger family of policies that develop spatial imaginaries, and specify affordances and constraints on place brands and brand-led strategies. Using mixed methods over a long timeframe, we analyse Tech City's emergence and the overlapping, competing narratives that preceded and su…
Creative differences? Measuring creative economy employment in the United States and the UK
This paper compares the creative economies of the US and the UK regions and nations using high-quality administrative microdata spanning the period 2011–13. The creative industries are highly urbanized in both countries. However, important differences are found in the size, density and diversity of creative activity between the two countries, which reflect differences in both urban systems and industrial organization. By testing the ‘Creative Tri…
Will coronavirus cause a big city exodus
Big cities thrive because of the economic and social benefits of proximity – but proximity also helps to spread COVID-19. Does this mean an end to the big city revival of recent years, or do vaccines herald a return to normality? Much will depend on how far the forced experiments of lockdown translate into new norms, write Henry Overman (LSE) and Max Nathan (UCL)
The Urban Economics of Superdiversity
This chapter examines the economic impacts of superdiversity in theory and practice, drawing on the experience of the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. Superdiversity has a largely urban footprint, reflecting the affordances of big cities and the deep history of the “multicultural city.” The chapter builds a simple framework to illustrate superdiversity’s economic effects on production and consumption systems and the roles of (a) higher-skilled …
Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development
We combine theory and evidence on incubator and accelerator programmes and their effects on urban economic development. These structured co-working programmes have grown rapidly. However, a rich descriptive literature reveals little about their impact on participants or surrounding urban areas. We situate programmes in a conceptual framework of co-location tools, theorise objectives and benefits and report findings from systematic, OECD-wide revi…
The What Works Centres: Lessons and Insights from an Evidence Movement
Leaders, researchers and practitioners from the UK 'What Works Network' share their insights on the successes, failures, and future of the What Works Centres, which have proven successful and popular across a number of policy settings.
The What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth: Some Lessons From the First Ten Years
I wrote yesterday about the problem with Portas Pilots, arguing that the way the scheme was implemented will make it almost impossible to figure out whether the projects actually have an impact. This is just one example of a more general failure - government is often very bad at generating convincing evaluation evidence and (arguably) even worse at using that evidence to inform policy making. Could a NICE for social policy help fix this? It appea…
Modeling clusters from the ground up: A web data approach
This paper proposes a new methodological framework to identify economic clusters over space and time. We employ a unique open source dataset of geolocated and archived business webpages and interrogate them using Natural Language Processing to build bottom-up classifications of economic activities. We validate our method on an iconic UK tech cluster – Shoreditch, East London. We benchmark our results against existing case studies and administrati…
Critical Commentary: The city and the virus
Cities around the world are the epicentres of the coronavirus pandemic: both in the first wave, as the disease spread from East Asia, and now, as many countries enter a third wave of infections. These spatial patterns are still far from properly understood, though there is no shortage of possible explanations. I set out the emerging theories about cities’ role in the spread of coronavirus, testing these against existing studies and new analysis f…
Creative Clusters and Creative Multipliers: Evidence from UK Cities
Economic geographers have paid much attention to the cultural and creative industries, both for their propensity to cluster in urban settings, and their potential to drive urban economic development. However, evidence on the latter is surprisingly sparse. In this article, we explore the long-term, causal impacts of the cultural and creative industries on surrounding urban economies. Adapting Moretti’s local multipliers framework, we build a new t…
Don't Shoot the Pianist: Creative Firms, Workers, and Neighborhood Gentrification
We examine links between creative activity and gentrification at the neighborhood level. These dynamics are both complex and important to understand. Artists may help upgrade inexpensive neighborhoods before being displaced, including by higher-paid creative services workers. Alternatively, creative activity may follow patterns of high-income customers and locales. Many city leaders hope creative industries can drive urban growth while worrying a…
Sociology (16 works) · Economics (15 works) · Economic geography (12 works) · Economic growth (10 works) · Geography (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Cultural Industries and Urban Development (8 works) · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis (8 works) · Business (6 works) · Computer Science (6 works)