Abstract
Economic Geography of Workforce Development in the Biotechnology Industry
Track: Education
Author
This paper investigates the impact of community college programs in biology-related areas on the growth of biotech firms. Data about community college enrollments, community college degrees in biology, and the age distribution of students in community colleges is combined with data about the concentration of and characteristics of biotechnology firms in the San Francisco Bay Area to show the effect of biotech-oriented degree programs in community colleges as attractors of biotechnology firms. The paper's principal features are the detailed data about biotechnology firms in the San Francisco Bay Area (provided by BayBio, a biotechnology trade association) and the detailed data about community college enrollments (provided by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges).
This paper relies upon and relates to a wide variety of literature. Among the significant recent contributions is Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz, The Race Between Education and Technology (Belknap Press, Harvard, 2008).
J. M. (Mike) Pogodzinski
Department of Economics (0114)
San Jose State University
1 Washington Square
San Jose, California 95192-0114
United States
Phone: 415-516-6144
E-mail: j.m.pogodzinski@gmail.com
Richard Kos
San Jose State University
Department of Urban and Regional Planning
One Washington Square
San Jose, California 95192-0185
United States
Phone: (510) 504-5064
E-mail: rickkos@mindspring.com