Education

B.A. Geography, University of Salford, 1981

M.A. Geography, McMaster University, 1983 Thesis: The Long Wave of Accumulation in Canada 1950-1980

Ph.D. Geography, McMaster University, 1988 Thesis: Technical Change in Canadian Manufacturing: A Regional Analysis

Research

I am currently engaged in research in three different areas:

1. Geographies of Invention and Knowledge Flow- development of the knowledge space of different cities/regions and their evolution over time- measurement of the complexity of patents and thus the complexity of the knowledge produced in different  technology hubs across the U.S. and Europe- identification of the characteristics of knowledge flows, particularly the flows of simple and complex forms of  knowledge- mapping the structure of inventor collaborations in specialized and diverse cities- linking patent and firm-level data
2. Analysis of Impacts of Trade on U.S. Labor Markets- this work uses confidential microdata from the Research Data Centers of the US Bureau of the Census that allows  construction of linked employer-employee data and the connection of transaction-level trade flows with firms- papers explore how rising levels of import competition are linked to job-loss, plant and firm exit and wage inequality
3. Analysis of the Micro-Economics of Agglomeration- using plant/firm level data to explore the different mechanisms that underpin agglomeration after Marshall (labor market pooling, localized input-output networks, knowledge spillovers)- how do these different mechanisms vary across different kinds of plants/firms?- at what spatial scales do these mechanisms operate?

Selected Publications

• Poon, J. and D.L. Rigby. 2017. International Trade: The Basics. Routledge.
• Petralia, S., Balland, P.-A. and D.L. Rigby. 2016. Unveiling the Historical Geography of Patents in the United States from 1836 to 1975. Scientific Data. (PDF)
• Kogler, D., Essletzbichler, J. and D.L. Rigby. 2016. The Evolution of Specialization in the EU15 Knowledge Space. Journal of Economic Geography. (PDF)
• Balland, P.-A. and D.L. Rigby. 2016. The Geography of Complex Knowledge. Economic Geography. (PDF)
• Rigby, D.L., Kemeny, T. and A. Cooke. 2016. Plant Exit and U.S. Imports from Low-Wage Countries. International Economics. (PDF)
• Hei, C., Yan, Y. and D.L. Rigby. 2016. Regional Industrial Evolution in China. Papers in Regional Science. (PDF)
• Hei, C., Qi, G. and D.L. Rigby. 2016. What Sustains larger Firms? Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Industries. The Annals of Regional Science. (PDF)
• Balland, P.-A., Rigby, D.L. and R. Boschma. 2015. The Technological Resilience of U.S. Cities. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. (PDF)
• Feldman, M., Kogler, D. and D.L. Rigby. 2015. rKnowledge: The Spatial Diffusion of rDNA Methods. Regional Studies. (PDF)
• Rigby, D.L. 2015. Technological Relatedness and Knowledge Space: Entry and Exit of U.S. Cities from Patent Classes. Regional Studies. (PDF)
• Rigby, D. L. and W.M Brown. 2015. Who Benefits From Agglomeration? Regional Studies. (PDF)
• Kemeny, T., Rigby, D.L. and A. Cooke. 2014. Cheap Imports and the Loss of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs. The World Economy. (PDF)
• Rigby, D.L., Kemeny, T. and A. Cooke 2014. U.S. Wage Inequality and Low-Wage Import Competition. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. (PDF)
• Kogler, D., Rigby D.L. and I. Tucker. 2013. Mapping Knowledge Space and Technological Relatedness in U.S. Cities. European Planning Studies. (PDF)
• Kemeny, T. and D.L. Rigby. 2012. Trading Away What Kind of Jobs? Globalization, Trade and Tasks in the U.S. Economy. Review of World Economics. (PDF)
• Baldwin, J.R., Brown, W.M. and D.L. Rigby. 2010. Agglomeration Economies: Micro-Data Panel Estimates from Canadian Manufacturing. Journal of Regional Science. (PDF)
• Essletzbichler, J. and D.L. Rigby. 2010. Generalized Darwinism and Evolutionary Economic Geography. In The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, Boschma, R. and R. Martin (eds.) Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Brown, W.M. and D.L. Rigby. 2010. Agglomeration Economies: Where Do They Come From and To Who Do They Flow? In Dynamic Geographies, Baathelt, H, Feldman, M., Gertler, M. and D. Kogler (eds.). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Burt, J., Barber, G. and D.L. Rigby. 2009. Elementary Statistics for Geographers (3rd ed.) New York: Guilford Press.
• Webber, M.J. and D.L. Rigby. 1996. The Golden Age Illusion. New York: Guilford Press.