Cognitive and Geographical Proximities Across Universities: Evidence from the OpenAlex Database

We analyzed scientific collaboration networks using the OpenAlex database via BigQuery.By establishing a threshold of a minimum of 60,000 works, we identified 473 distinctuniversities worldwide. The impact of geographical proximity on scientific collaboration wasmeasured in kilometers. For cognitive proximity, we utilized a new classification recentlyproposed by researchers from Leiden University. To examine the relationship betweencognitive and geographical proximity among universities, we applied the gravity model ofspatial interaction along with count data models. The results indicated an average reduction of10.27% in collaboration for every 1,000 kilometers of distance between two universities.