The determinants of spatial location of creative industries start-ups: Evidence from Portugal using a discrete choice model approach

This paper assesses the location determinants of the newly created firms in the creative sector within the framework of Discrete Choice Models. Estimations using a conditional logit model, which incorporate spatial effects of neighbouring regions in the location choices of firms, yield the following results: i) the concentration of creative and knowledge-based activities, due to agglomeration economies, play an important role in location decisions of new creative establishments; ii) in contrast, the concentration of service-business activities has a negative impact on location choices, which may be due to the fact that creative firms privilege interdependencies with other activity sectors, such as innovation/ knowledge-based activities; iii) creative firms tend to favour a diversified industrial tissue and related variety, in order to enjoy from inter-sectorial synergies; iv) higher education at a regional level has a highly significant, positive effect on location decisions, while lower educational levels of human capital negatively affect those decisions, explained by the specific requirements that creative firms usually have of a highly skilled labour force; v) tolerant/ open environments attract creative activities; vi) creative firms tend to favour municipalities where the stock of knowledge and conditions for innovative activity are higher. Location decisions of creative firms also vary according to the creative sector they belong to and to their own characteristics, firm’s educational level or technology-intensity. Finally, municipality attributes are more important in terms of firms’ location decisions than the characteristics of nearby regions.