Crowdfunding and industrial diversification

Crowdfunding (CF) has emerged as a novel source of entrepreneurial finance, yet its role in shaping regional industrial dynamics remains poorly understood. Adopting an evolutionary economic geography perspective and exploiting a newly developed database, this article examines the relationship between CF activity and the emergence of new local industrial specializations. The analysis shows that industries receiving funds through CF are more likely to become part of local specialization patterns, especially when they are related to the existing industrial structure. Moreover, these associations are stronger in counties characterized by higher levels of credit insecurity.