The Geography of Start-ups by The Economist - Article Example

The paper "The Geography of Start-ups by The Economist" is a worthy example of an article on business. The geography of start-ups is an article in the Economist printed on October 27, both in the online and print edition. The article is an illustration of Alfred Marshall’s reasoning for firms located in a place geographically near each other. Alfred Marshall noted that proximity created “something in the air”, which the article explains as data (The Geographies of Start-ups”, Par. 1). The article gives for economic theory reasons for proximity including proximity to natural resources, access to a pool of specialized labor, the supply of specialized inputs, and spill-over of ideas. The article depicts the proximity of technology companies in Silicon Valley with increasing concentration in London, New York, Berlin, and San Francisco. Silicon Valley remains to be the home for most technology companies owing to the following reasons. The reasons behind the proximity of these firms according to the article are access to labor, money, and advice for start-ups. Other reasons are increased chances of face-to-face communication, which is more efficient than the email of the phone conversation. Recycling of people owing to experience, access to the latest ideas, and the ability to have access to venture capital are the other reasons for the proximity of technology firms.

The article goes further to analyze the possibility of other cities including New York, Berlin, and London catching up with Silicon Valley. Two advantages favor New York and Berlin, which are they are bigger and have a vast pool of industries resulting in high skills. The effect is the start of start-ups in these cities with Berlin having an advantage of technology and art intersection. Despite these advantages, Silicon Valley has had more scale and resilience in terms of proximity to information technology industries with the primary reason being data.
I believe the article is clear and concise in articulating the different reasons reminiscent for the proximity of firms especially in Silicon Valley with the main reason standing out being access to data. Data in terms of new ideas and innovations that have proved to be technological milestones have held Silicon Valley together and will continue owing to the increased benefit of communication, the internet, and other technologies. Read More