Living preferences of STEM workers in a high-tech business park of a peripheral region

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Abstract

Despite the importance of STEM workers to regional economies, scientists and policymakers have a limited understanding of how to recruit this scarce target group, particularly in offering an attractive living environment. This case study uses self-reported overall life satisfaction to explore the living preferences of STEM workers employed at a high-tech business park (HTBP) in a demographically shrinking region in the southern periphery of the Netherlands. We argue that individuals’ self-evaluation of life satisfaction is a proxy for their individual utility and thereby indicates the preferred features of the geographical unit in which they reside. We relate the survey data of 420 employees at the business park to the specific characteristics of the municipalities they live in, complemented by qualitative data from 32 semi-structured interviews with these workers. We conclude that the average STEM worker at the HTBP prefers to reside in places of lower extraversion, which are often characterized by a suburban lifestyle, green areas, and open spaces, including a little touch of consumer amenities.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationMaastricht
PublisherMaastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics
Number of pages54
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 May 2020

Publication series

SeriesGSBE Research Memoranda
Number016
ISSN2666-8807

JEL classifications

  • j11 - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
  • o18 - "Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure"
  • r11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
  • r23 - "Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics"
  • r58 - Regional Development Planning and Policy

Keywords

  • living preferences
  • life satisfaction
  • STEM workers
  • high-tech business park
  • demographic shrinkage

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