Which regional conditions facilitate university spinouts retention and attraction?

We discuss the economic and institutional factors that contribute to regions retaining university spinouts (USOs) founded within their borders as well as attracting USOs from other regions. Using UK data, we find that those regions with high USO retention rates have lower urbanization and localization economies. This suggests that locally founded USOs take advantage of cheaper inputs in addition to benefits that come from proximity to their home university. However, regions with high USO attraction rates have higher localization economies and innovation resources, suggesting that USOs move there to benefit from dynamic innovation systems. This study offers some general implications for regional and national industrial policy, including the ‘levelling up’ regional policy agenda.