Oof, I only read a third of the article until the authors starts talking about tech clusters in detail. But it seems so weird to me how so many economically focused people seem to have a very strong tunnel vision and see the world only in terms of economic growth and nothing else. Like, in the whole introduction there is no mention at all of the environment and how we have already more than surpassed its limits in many ways. How the global north’s growth heavily relies on exploiting the people and the environment of the global south. Of course there was a lot more economic growth in Europe and the US when they could depend on colonialism and slavery. What I want to say is that, while the proposed question might be interesting, not even considering these factors is a huge oversight. I don’t get how these fans of capitalism can understand so little of how it works. Like those economy “experts” who have been praising neoliberalism as benefitting everyone for ages but have made most people’s lives miserable.