This database on medium-size Spanish cities assembles a large number of local indicators drawn from diverse sources of varying characteristics and accessibility. It provides an overview of the current situation and recent past of municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants (2006 data), focusing on their industrial dynamism and positioning in the knowledge economy.
Through statistical analysis of this information, researchers on the project Industrial Innovation Strategies and Economic Development in Medium-Size Spanish Cities have arrived at a typology of cities that has served, in turn, to select a series of case studies. Qualitative techniques are then applied to these cases to gain a better understanding of the local factors driving business innovation trajectories.
Available data
The information content refers firstly to population changes since the middle of the 20th century based on electoral and census records, followed by a section on companies and Social Security enrolments between 2000 and 2006. The next section presents the industrial structure of cities with a breakdown by branch of activity, providing insights into their relative diversification and/or degree of specialization. The final table, dealing with innovation and the knowledge economy, identifies fifteen indicators reflecting the stock of human capital and digital infrastructure, the presence of innovation and creative clusters in industry and services, innovation effort as measured by participation in funded RDI projects, and outcome indicators like patent applications, quality certificates or the number of exporting firms.
