Absolutely. Twenty years ago I tried hybrid road/trail tires...knobby tires with a smooth center section. Any time I went to turn they lots lots of grip.

I'm no expert (as I continue to demonstrate with each post) but I can share my personal experience. Grip varies by tire compound, and even by tire design and shape. I now run slicks on my 700x32 commuter and the transition from straight to cornering is nice.

I added big, fat slicks to my MTB/Commuter/Utility bike last spring and it is a joy to ride and corner, although they seem to "wander" a bit more on the straights than the thinner tires I had previous run.

My old road bike has slightly treaded 700x32 which have worn smooth in the center, and they feel a little less grippy when I lean to corner and they get on the tread.

A year or two ago I had some Continental touring II's which were mildly treaded and smooth-shouldered which should have made them feel more secure when turning, but it was the opposite. The center tread seemed to be softer and grippier than the harder, slicker sides, so corning was not great.

My newest bike came with Kenda "Small-Block 8's" which were micro-knobbies. They seemed to corner okay, but I think that was a function of the "sameness" of the grip from center to side. And while they were comfortable and supple, they did require more pedalling effort than slicks.

My summation is that tires that are uniformly grippy from center to side provide more uniform grip when transitioning from straight-ahead riding to cornering, but differences in tread and compound can also make a difference.

There are no measurements for this, just anecdotal accounts.