The New York Times has another article on why it’s so hard to duplicate Silicon Valley:
When It Comes to Innovation, Geography Is Destiny
“Face-to-face is still very important for exchange of ideas, and nowhere is this exchange more valuable than in Silicon Valley,†says Paul M. Romer, a professor in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford who is known for studying the economics of ideas.
In short, “geography matters,†Professor Romer said. Give birth to an information-technology idea in Silicon Valley and the chances of success seem vastly higher than when it is done in another ZIP code.
About one-quarter of all venture investment in the United States goes to Silicon Valley enterprises.