The role of universities in the process of local and regional economic development has attracted considerable interest among scholars and policy-makers (VARGA, 2000; BOUCHER et al., 2003). This strand of analysis, initially centred on income–expenditure–employment effects (for example, BROWNRIGG, 1973; BLEANEY et al., 1992), has embraced new directions as universities’ capacity as incubators for new basic research and loci for learning gradually gained due recognition (MALECKI, 1985; VARGA, 1998). Empirical evidence also indicates that the presence of a skilled labour force fosters local development either through productivity effects due to local knowledge spillovers and human capital externalities (HOWELLS, 1986; GLAESER et al., 1992; WESTHEAD and STOREY, 1995), or by attracting private sector research and development and investments in high-technology activities (MALECKI, 1991; SAXENIAN, 1994; ALMEIDA and KOGUT, 1997) or by further encouraging immigration or retention of highly skilled workers (HERZOG et al., 1986; BEESON and MONTGOMERY, 1993; FAGGIAN and MCCANN, 2009). The organization of local labour markets, in turn, brings to bear upon each of the foretold dimensions by either stimulating or hampering the mobility of and the access to pools to skilled workers (ANDERSSON et al., 1990; MALECKI and BRADBURY, 1992).