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Real Effects of Academic Research
01 Jan 1989-The American Economic Review (American Economic Association)-Vol. 79, Iss: 5, pp 957-970
TL;DR: In this article, the existence of geographically mediated "spillovers" from university research to commercial innovation is explored using state-level time-series data on corporate patents, corporate R&D, and university research.
Abstract: The existence of geographically mediated "spillovers" from university research to commercial innovation is explored using state-level time-series data on corporate patents, corporate R&D, and university research. A significant effect of university research on corporate patents is found, particularly in the areas of drugs and medical technology, and electronics, optics, and nuclear technology. In addition, university research appears to have an indirect effect on local innovation by inducing industrial R&D spending. Copyright 1989 by American Economic Association.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare the geographic location of patent citations to those of cited patents, as evidence of the extent to which knowledge spillovers are geographically localized, and find that citations to U.S. patents are more likely to come from the U. S., and more likely than coming from the same state and SMSA as cited patents than one would expect based only on the preexisting concentration of related research activity.
Abstract: We compare the geographic location of patent citations to those of the cited patents, as evidence of the extent to which knowledge spillovers are geographically localized. We find that citations to U.S. patents are more likely to come from the U.S., and more likely to come from the same state and SMSA as the cited patents than one would expect based only on the preexisting concentration of related research activity. These effects are particularly significant at the local (SMSA) level, and are particularly apparent in early citations.
5,937 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey on the use of patent data in economic analysis, focusing on the patent data as an indicator of technological change and concluding that patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
Abstract: This survey reviews the growing use of patent data in economic analysis. After describing some of the main characteristics of patents and patent data, it focuses on the use of patents as an indicator of technological change. Cross-sectional and time-series studies of the relationship of patents to R&D expenditures are reviewed, as well as scattered estimates of the distribution of patent values and the value of patent rights, the latter being based on recent analyses of European patent renewal data. Time-series trends of patents granted in the U.S. are examined and their decline in the 1970s is found to be an artifact of the budget stringencies at the Patent Office. The longer run downward trend in patents per R&D dollar is interpreted not as an indication of diminishing returns but rather as a reflection of the changing meaning of such data over time. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of many difficulties and reservations, patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
5,075 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the spatial distribution of innovation activity and the geographic concentration of production are examined, using three sources of economic knowledge: industry R&D, skilled labor, and the size of the pool of basic science for a specific industry.
Abstract: Previous research has indicated that investment in R&D by private firms and universities can lead to knowledge spillover, which can lead to exploitation from other third-party firms. If the ability of these third-party firms to acquire knowledge spillovers is influenced by their proximity to the knowledge source, then geographic clustering should be observable, especially in industries where access to knowledge spillovers is vital. The spatial distribution of innovation activity and the geographic concentration of production are examined, using three sources of economic knowledge: industry R&D, skilled labor, and the size of the pool of basic science for a specific industry. Results show that the propensity for innovative activity to cluster spatially is more attributable to the influence of knowledge spillovers and not merely the geographic concentration of production. (SFL)
4,252 citations
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TL;DR: This article reviewed the empirical evidence for R&D spillovers and concluded that they are a major source of endogenous growth in various recent "New Growth Theory" models, and that they should be investigated further.
Abstract: R&D spillovers are, potentially, a major source of endogenous growth in various recent "New Growth Theory" models. This paper reviews the basic model of R&D spillovers and then focuses on the empirical evidence for their existence and magnitude. It reviews the older empirical literature with special attention to the econometric difficulties of actually coming up with convincing evidence on this topic. Taken individually,, many of the studies are flawed and subject to a variety of reservations, but the overall impression remains that R&D spillovers are both prevalent and important.
2,194 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the empirical literature on the nature and sources of urban increasing returns, also known as agglomeration economies, and show that the effects of aggoglomeration extend over at least three different dimensions.
Abstract: This paper considers the empirical literature on the nature and sources of urban increasing returns, also known as agglomeration economies. An important aspect of these externalities that has not been previously emphasized is that the effects of agglomeration extend over at least three different dimensions. These are the industrial, geographic, and temporal scope of economic agglomeration economies. In each case, the literature suggests that agglomeration economies attenuate with distance. Recently, the literature has also begun to provide evidence on the microfoundations of external economies of scale. The best known of these sources are those attributed to Marshall (1920): labor market pooling, input sharing, and knowledge spillovers. Evidence to date supports the presence of all three of these forces. In addition, there is also evidence that natural advantage, home market effects, consumption opportunities, and rent-seeking all contribute to agglomeration.
2,027 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey on the use of patent data in economic analysis, focusing on the patent data as an indicator of technological change and concluding that patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
Abstract: This survey reviews the growing use of patent data in economic analysis. After describing some of the main characteristics of patents and patent data, it focuses on the use of patents as an indicator of technological change. Cross-sectional and time-series studies of the relationship of patents to R&D expenditures are reviewed, as well as scattered estimates of the distribution of patent values and the value of patent rights, the latter being based on recent analyses of European patent renewal data. Time-series trends of patents granted in the U.S. are examined and their decline in the 1970s is found to be an artifact of the budget stringencies at the Patent Office. The longer run downward trend in patents per R&D dollar is interpreted not as an indication of diminishing returns but rather as a reflection of the changing meaning of such data over time. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of many difficulties and reservations, patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
5,075 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey on the use of patent data in economic analysis, focusing on the patent data as an indicator of technological change and concluding that patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
Abstract: This survey reviews the growing use of patent data in economic analysis. After describing some of the main characteristics of patents and patent data, it focuses on the use of patents as an indicator of technological change. Cross-sectional and time-series studies of the relationship of patents to R&D expenditures are reviewed, as well as scattered estimates of the distribution of patent values and the value of patent rights, the latter being based on recent analyses of European patent renewal data. Time-series trends of patents granted in the U.S. are examined and their decline in the 1970s is found to be an artifact of the budget stringencies at the Patent Office. The longer run downward trend in patents per R&D dollar is interpreted not as an indication of diminishing returns but rather as a reflection of the changing meaning of such data over time. The conclusion is reached that, in spite of many difficulties and reservations, patent data remain a unique resource for the study of technical change.
4,845 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present evidence that firms' patents, profits and market value are systematically related to the technological position of firms' research programs, and that firms are seen to "move" in technology space in response to the pattern of contemporaneous profits at different positions.
Abstract: This paper presents evidence that firms' patents, profits and market value are systematically related to the"technological position" of firms' research programs. Further, firms are seen to "move" in technology space in response to the pattern of contemporaneous profits at different positions. These movements tend to erode excess returns."Spillovers" of R&D are modelled by examining whether the R&D of neighboring firms in technology space has an observable impact on the firm's R&D success. Firms whose neighbors do much R&D produce more patents per dollar of their own R&D,with a positive interaction that gives high R&D firms the largest benefit from spillovers. In terms of profit and market value, however, their are both positive and negative effects of nearby firms' R&D. The net effect is positive for high R&D firms, but firms with R&D about one standard deviation below the mean are made worse off overall by the R&D of others.
3,313 citations
TL;DR: This paper developed and adapted statistical models of counts (nonnegative integers) in the context of panel data and used them to analyze the relationship between patents and R&D expenditures. But their model is not suitable for the analysis of large-scale data sets.
Abstract: This paper focuses on developing and adapting statistical models of counts (nonnegative integers) in the context of panel data and using them to analyze the relationship between patents and R & D expenditures. Since a variety of other economic data come in the form of repeated counts of some individual actions or events, the methodology should have wide applications. The statistical models we develop are applications and generalizations of the Poisson distribution. Two important issues are (i) Given the panel nature of our data, how can we allow for separate persistent individual (fixed or random) effects? (ii) How does one introduce the equivalent of disturbances-in-the-equation into the analysis of Poisson and other discrete probability functions? The first problem is solved by conditioning on the total sum of outcomes over the observed years, while the second problem is solved by introducing an additional source of randomness, allowing the Poisson parameter to be itself randomly distributed, and compounding the two distributions. Lastly, we develop a test statistic for the presence of serial correlation when fixed effects estimators are used in nonlinear conditional models.
2,947 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of exogenous variations in the state of technology (technological opportunity) and of the R&D of other firms (spillovers of r&D) on the productivity of firms' R&Ds were quantified.
Abstract: This paper quantifies the effects of exogenous variations in the state of technology (technological opportunity) and of the R&D of other firms (spillovers of R&D) on the productivity of firms' R&D. The R&D productivity is increased by the R&D of "technological neighbors," though neighbors' R&D lowers the profits and market value of low-R&D-intensity firms. Firms are shown to adjust the technological composition of their R&D in response to technological opportunity. Copyright 1986 by American Economic Association.
2,687 citations