ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of mobility on inventor productivity. Unlike most previous literature in this field, we separate the impact of firm mobility from geographical mobility. Our paper is also novel because of the long period of investigation. We report how the different forms of mobility, and their impacts, have changed over the period 1836–1975 using US patent data. Mobility is identified for serial inventors who change assignee and/or location over time. Firm mobility and geographical mobility increase throughout the period examined, with only temporary reversals around the Great Depression and Second World War. Comparisons across matched samples of mobile and immobile inventors reveal that firm mobility and spatial mobility raise the patent productivity of inventors, the former having the largest impact. Inventor productivity increases for up to 15 years following a mobility event, suggesting a process of adjustment after a move.

摘要

本文的目的是探讨流动性对发明人生产力的影响。与该领域以前的大多数文献不同，我们将企业流动性的影响与地域流动性分开。由于调查时间长，我们的论文也很新颖。我们使用美国专利数据报告了 1836 年至 1975 年期间不同形式的流动性及其影响是如何变化的。流动性是为随时间改变受让人和/或位置的连续发明人确定的。在整个考察期间，公司流动性和地域流动性都在增加，只有在大萧条和第二次世界大战期间出现了暂时的逆转。对流动和固定发明人的匹配样本进行比较表明，公司流动性和空间流动性提高了发明人的专利生产力，前者影响最大。