Blueprint for an Innovation Economy in Florida Research as Economic Foundation | Page 10

THE TWO-EDGED SWORD
Good things result from the work of scientists
crafting new recipes. With AxoGen, we have
shown a clear connection with new high-value
jobs and production. Conversely, one would
theorize that an economy with less research
output limits those opportunities. In those
locales, employers and employees are often
forced to defensively react and catch-up
to disruptive new products, methods and
wealth created elsewhere. They are always
two steps behind.
research of national and private labs, private-
sector companies and smaller institutions.
• In some very small MSAs, the percentage of
the workforce in STEM occupations may be
skewed by the outsized employment influence
of a research university.
In spite of these limitations, a compelling picture
emerges that clearly demonstrates the role
that science plays with the STEM character of a
regional workforce.
For this analysis of Florida’s comparative scientific
production, Leiden’s data is used because of
its functional form and availability to all. Leiden
includes data from universities with 1,000 or
more core publications from Web of Science. 19
These universities were matched with the
appropriate metropolitan statistical areas which
allowed for the creation of indices of both
citations and the percentage of STEM jobs
created in the MSAs. 20
In Figure 6, the X axis captures an index of
citations while the Y axis illustrates an index of
STEM jobs in an MSA. MSAs are grouped by color
according to the size of the area. The largest,
greater than 5 million people, are represented in
yellow and the smallest are shown in green. To
add clarity to the STEM job index, the size of a
circle represents the actual percentage of STEM
jobs in the MSA. In the chart, Waco, Texas, with
2.1 percent of its population in STEM occupations
is at the low end. San Jose, California, with 20.2
percent is at the high end.
This data set has limitations. In particular:
• By restricting the data set to that generated
at larger university settings, it misses the
Regional Scientific Strength Improves the Mix of High Wage Stem Jobs
Circle Width Shows the Percentage of Stem Jobs in the MSA
SJO,  20.2%
BOU
DC
SEA
DUR
AUS
FIGURE 6:
Regional Scientific
Strength Improves
the Mix of High
Wage Stem Jobs
Circle Width Shows
the Percentage
of Stem Jobs in
the MSA
RAL
CORV
KAN
PRO
CLT
TLH
GRVL
VB
SYR
ALL
FGO
SAP
LR
BUR
EUG
MANHAT
TOL
LOGAN MOR
GRN
LV
TUSC
WAC, 2.1%
LUB
PDX
ALB
PHO
AMES
ROC
MIL
AKR
LOU
NO
MAD
MIN
ST‐COL
NH
BLT
HOU
CHI
STL
GVL
MIA
CH‐UR
SPR
W‐S
IA‐CTY
LAF
RIV
ATH
LAWR
AUB
Index of Citations
> 5M Population
8
1.3M to 5M Population
350K to 1.3M Population
BOS
SF
PHI
PIT
SAN TAM
S‐BND
SD
DAL ATL
COL
BLM
NAS
BMH
PRV
TUC CLV
BR
ORL
DEN
TRT
A‐A
SAC
< 350K
LA