The effects of human and infrastructural capital on the entry rates of new technology-based firms at the local level

The study explores the impact of the local endowment of both human and infrastructural capital on the creation of new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the 103 Italian provinces in the 1996-2005 period. Our empirical results indicate that both human and infrastructural capital have a significant positive effect on NTBFs’ entry rates, although the impacts are different depending on whether the industry is manufacturing or services. More specifically, the impact of human capital is weak on the manufacturing industries, while infrastructural capital plays a key role in services. The results also show the absence of complementary effects between human and infrastructural capital, either in manufacturing industries or in services.