Creative Knowledge Workers and Location in Europe and North America: A Comparative Review

Abstract

Much of the recent interest in the development of individual creativity has drawn upon Richard Florida's (2002a) book The Rise of the Creative Class. Whereas in the industrial age, classical and neoclassical economic theory told us that 'people followed jobs', in the modern knowledge economy Florida describes how 'jobs follow talented people'. The research reported in this article represents an analysis of quality of place and the dispersion of the creative knowledge workers in seven European countries and builds upon the work that has been undertaken in North American cities in order to understand whether similar processes concerning the relationship between creativity, human capital, and high-technology industries are at work in Europe as claimed is the case within North America. Economic outcomes from creative class location are also reviewed. Finally, we consider the implications for further research, given the evidence presented here suggesting some variation of results by national socio-economic context.