Is closeness too important for trading ideas?
Is closeness too important for trading ideas?
Thursday, 4 April 2013: 8:50 AM
Ideas flows across regions may have important consequences for both productivity and innovation. This
paper investigates how closeness shapes the trading of ideas. Employing spatial econometric techniques,
we examine what type of closeness, namely geographic, structural, technological, and economic proximity
is conductive to ideas flows. We use a unique dataset on patent reassignments between US located firms
over the period 1993-2006. Our results suggest that geographic closeness is important for trading patents
but what matters more is the technological proximity between the trading partners. Contingency has a
strong effect only when researchers’ mobility is low. Lastly, in comparison with merchandise trade flows,
we demonstrate that ideas flows reach much more farther.
paper investigates how closeness shapes the trading of ideas. Employing spatial econometric techniques,
we examine what type of closeness, namely geographic, structural, technological, and economic proximity
is conductive to ideas flows. We use a unique dataset on patent reassignments between US located firms
over the period 1993-2006. Our results suggest that geographic closeness is important for trading patents
but what matters more is the technological proximity between the trading partners. Contingency has a
strong effect only when researchers’ mobility is low. Lastly, in comparison with merchandise trade flows,
we demonstrate that ideas flows reach much more farther.