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on Innovation |
| By: | Eric Budish; Benjamin N. Roin; Heidi Williams |
| Abstract: | Patents award innovators a fixed period of market exclusivity, e.g., 20 years in the United States. Yet, since in many industries firms file patents at the time of discovery (“invention”) rather than first sale (“commercialization”), effective patent terms vary: inventions that commercialize at the time of invention receive a full patent term, whereas inventions that have a long time lag between invention and commercialization receive substantially reduced - or in extreme cases, zero - effective patent terms. We present a simple model formalizing how this variation may distort research and development (R&D). We then explore this distortion empirically in the context of cancer R&D, where clinical trials are shorter - and hence, effective patent terms longer - for drugs targeting late-stage cancer patients, relative to drugs targeting early-stage cancer patients or cancer prevention. Using a newly constructed data set on cancer clinical trial investments, we provide several sources of evidence consistent with fixed patent terms distorting cancer R&D. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that the number of life-years at stake is large. We discuss three specific policy levers that could eliminate this distortion - patent design, targeted R&D subsidies, and surrogate (non-mortality) clinical trial endpoints - and provide empirical evidence that surrogate endpoints can be effective in practice. |
| JEL: | I10 O30 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19430&r=ino |
| By: | René Carraz |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the influence that academic patenting has on faculty members belonging to a research intensive Japanese uni- versity. We intend to contribute to the literature on both the use of patenting in academia and the influence it has on a researcher’s agenda setting. First, we document how recent policy changes have favored an increasing use of patents by faculty members in Japan. Then, us- ing two complementary set of data, cross-section and panel data, we focus our attention on three main dimensions: the effect of patenting on academic productivity measured in terms of publications and their quality; the role of financial factors; and the influence of peer effects. Our main findings are the following. First, we find that patenting and publishing were complementary activities in our two empirical settings. Moreover, we find that the output of colleagues working in the same department influences a researcher propensity to patent. The results show as well that the amount of contractual research funds received by a researcher is positively correlated with his/her number of patents, while the number of research grants - not the amount - is correlated to his/her patenting output. Finally, another interesting result concerns the influence of a researcher’s age on his/her propensity to patent. |
| Keywords: | Academic patenting, peer effects, intellectual property rights, technology transfer, university-industry relationships, Japanese innovation system. |
| JEL: | O3 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2013-12&r=ino |
| By: | Friedrich Dornbusch (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Competence Center Policy and Regions); Sidonia von Proff (Economic geography and Location Research, Philipps-Universität Marburg); Thomas Brenner (Economic geography and Location Research, Philipps-Universität Marburg) |
| Abstract: | Collaboration over distance is difficult to maintain in innovation projects which require a great deal of regional collaboration. However, patent documents reveal that a number of inventor teams are able to overcome long distances. Earlier literature started to investigate factors, which increase the probability of long-distance innovation co-operation. The paper at hand is restricted to patents with academic participation, but takes a close look at two types of factors in the environment of the inventors: (1) the characteristics of the university that employs the academic inventor(s), and (2) the influence of the regional environment. Research on the impact of these factors is still underdeveloped in the literature. By considering only patents with at least one academic inventor we have a relatively homogeneous subset of patents and can concentrate on the external impacts. We find that a similar research area structure, a high absorptive capacity as well as a high start-up rate foster intra-regional collaboration. More TTO staff and a larger university lead to more long-distance collaboration while the industry orientation of the university does not exert an influence on the distance between inventors. |
| Keywords: | patents, research collaboration, academic patents, collaboration over distance, Germany |
| JEL: | O31 R12 L14 |
| Date: | 2013–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2013-11&r=ino |
| By: | Bettina Peters; Mark J. Roberts; Van Anh Vuong; Helmut Fryges |
| Abstract: | Using firm-level data from the German manufacturing sector, we estimate a dynamic, structural model of the firm's decision to invest in R&D and quantify the cost and long-run benefit of this investment. The model incorporates and quantifies linkages between the firm's R&D investment, product and process innovations, and future productivity and profits. The dynamic model provides a natural measure of the long-run payoff to R&D as the difference in expected firm value generated by the R&D investment. For the median productivity firm, investment in R&D raises firm value by 3.0 percent in a group of high-tech industries but only 0.2 percent in low-tech industries. Simulations of the model show that cost subsidies for R&D can significantly affect R&D investment rates and productivity changes in the high-tech industries. |
| JEL: | L60 O30 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19374&r=ino |
| By: | Simachev, Yuri; Kuzyk, Mikhail; Feygina, Vera |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of the paper is to analyze different channels for innovations. We analyze the influence of various incentives for innovation in Russian companies taking into account the organization of industries — vertical or horizontal orientation, peculiarities of corporate demography, role and motives of different owners (including government and foreign investors), demand trends, customers‘ profile, nature and intensity of competition in relevant markets. An empirical base for our study is provided by two surveys of Russian industrial companies conducted in 2011 and 2012. One of our hypotheses: in vertically organized sectors that define innovation activeness in the economy (for example, mechanical engineering), the innovative development of the head producers is constrained by the risk of technological gap with its partners in the supply chain. We find out that innovations in Russian industry spread in accordance with two main models: vertical through corporate connections, and horizontal, based on the example of foreign companies in the atmosphere of developed competition. |
| Keywords: | innovation, industrial organization, supply chain, innovation channels |
| JEL: | D22 L2 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49894&r=ino |
| By: | Wen Wen; Marco Ceccagnoli; Chris Forman |
| Abstract: | We examine whether the introduction of a patent commons, a special type of royalty free patent pool available to the open source software (OSS) community influences new OSS product entry by start-up software firms. In particular, we analyze the impact of The Commons—established by the Open Source Development Labs and IBM in 2005. We find that increases in the size of The Commons related to a software market increase the rate of entry in the market by start-ups using a new product based on an OSS license. The marginal impact of The Commons on OSS entry is increasing in the cumulativeness of innovation in the market and the extent to which patent ownership in the market is concentrated. |
| JEL: | L86 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19394&r=ino |
| By: | Ramana Nanda; Matthew Rhodes-Kropf |
| Abstract: | Our paper demonstrates that while failure tolerance by investors may encourage potential entrepreneurs to innovate, financiers with investment strategies that tolerate early failure endogenously choose to fund less radical innovations. Failure tolerance as an equilibrium price that increases in the level of experimentation. More experimental projects that don't generate enough to pay the price cannot be started. In equilibrium all competing financiers may choose to offer failure tolerant contracts to attract entrepreneurs, leaving no capital to fund the most radical, experimental projects. The tradeoff between failure tolerance and a sharp guillotine helps explain when and where radical innovation occurs. |
| JEL: | G24 G39 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19379&r=ino |
| By: | William R. Kerr |
| Abstract: | High-skilled immigrants are a very important component of U.S. innovation and entrepreneurship. Immigrants account for roughly a quarter of U.S. workers in these fields, and they have a similar contribution in terms of output measures like patents or firm starts. This contribution has been rapidly growing over the last three decades. In terms of quality, the average skilled immigrant appears to be better trained to work in these fields, but conditional on educational attainment of comparable quality to natives. The exception to this is that immigrants have a disproportionate impact among the very highest achievers (e.g., Nobel Prize winners). Studies regarding the impact of immigrants on natives tend to find limited consequences in the short-run, while the results in the long-run are more varied and much less certain. Immigrants in the United States aid business and technology exchanges with their home countries, but the overall effect that the migration has on the home country remains unclear. We know very little about return migration of workers engaged in innovation and entrepreneurship, except that it is rapidly growing in importance. |
| JEL: | F15 F22 J15 J31 J44 L14 L26 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19377&r=ino |
| By: | Sergey Belev (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Olga Boldareva (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Ilya Sokolov (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy); Anna Zolotareva (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the legal basis and the elements of the institutional environment of public procurements of innovations produce in Russia and the world. Authors analyze procurement procedures for complex and hi-tech products. They determine ways for the development of Russian procurement legislation regarding procurement of innovation products. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, public procurement, innovations, innovation products |
| JEL: | H57 H44 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:166&r=ino |
| By: | Chris Kimble (MRM - Montpellier Recherche en Management - Université Montpellier II - Sciences et techniques : EA4557 - Université Montpellier I - Université Paul Valéry - Montpellier III - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School, Euromed Marseille - École de management - Association Euromed Management - Marseille); Hua Wang (Euromed Marseille - École de management - Association Euromed Management - Marseille) |
| Abstract: | Purpose The overarching theme is the importance of innovations that are created within the emerging economies. More specifically, the article looks at the development of various alternatives to vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine, new energy vehicles (NEVs) within China. Design/methodology/approach The broad strategic approach of two sectors within the NEV sector in China, the pure electric vehicle (EV) and the low-speed electric vehicle (LSEV) sectors, are compared using recent data and conclusions are drawn. Findings The EV sector is viewed by the central government as a key sector for China's future industrial growth and is heavily supported. In contrast, the LSEV sector receives no support from central government and yet clearly outstrips the sales of EVs. The article argues that the latter's success is a reflection of the LSEV sector's focus on business model rather than technological innovation. Practical implications The article highlights the importance of monitoring innovations that come from within emerging economies and also illustrates the benefits that can come from commercially focused innovations rather than those based on technology. Social implications Finding alternatives to vehicles powered by fossil fuels is one of the most important challenges facing the world today. This article looks at the search for one alternative and examines its implications. What is original/of value? The article examines a business sector that is peculiarly Chinese and yet has potential implications far beyond China. It also contains recent sales figures and other data collected directly from sources in China. |
| Keywords: | Business models; China; Electric vehicles; Emergent strategy; Emerging economies; Innovation; Innovation; New energy vehicles |
| Date: | 2013–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00859484&r=ino |
| By: | José Eustáquio Ribeiro Vieira Filho; Adriana Carvalho Pinto Vieira |
| Abstract: | O ambiente tecnológico e institucional influencia a forma de fazer pesquisa e as relações entre seus participantes. A propriedade intelectual é estratégica na formação do arcabouço institucional do novo regime tecnológico e, por conseguinte, da dinâmica de inovação na agricultura. Desde a promulgação da Lei de Proteção de Cultivares em1997, os mecanismos de proteção à propriedade intelectual tornaram-se fundamentais para a gestão da pesquisa agropecuária e o fortalecimento da pesquisa pública, bem como para o incentivo das parcerias público-privadas (PPPs), ou mesmo entre empresas nacionais e multinacionais. São funções da propriedade intelectual: i) garantir o investimento de longo prazo em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D); ii) proteger o novo conhecimento e as inovações tecnológicas; iii) ser fonte de informações estratégicas; iv) atrair e potencializar investimentos em áreas estratégicas; e v) manter a segurança jurídica no ambiente de negócios que envolvem ativos intangíveis. O Brasil é um forte produtor agropecuário, e o sistema de propriedade intelectual contribui para consolidar vantagens comparativas dinâmicas no setor. The technological and institutional environment influences the way of doing research and the relationships between its participants. Intellectual property is a strategic issue to build the institutional framework of the new technological regime and therefore the dynamics of innovation in agriculture. Since the Protection of Plant Varieties Law (1997), the mechanisms of intellectual property rights have become fundamental to the management of agricultural research and the strengthening of public research,as well as the encouragement of public-private partnerships, or even a partnership between national and multinational companies. The functions of intellectual property rights are: i) ensure the long-term investment in R&D; ii) protect new knowledge and technological innovations; iii) keep a source of strategic information; iv) attract |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1866&r=ino |
| By: | Peine; Moors |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we strive to unravel in how far current practices of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) are suitable to guide health policy decisions about personal health systems (PHS). We focus on the implicit representations of users and their position in the innovation process that underly established HTA practices, and explore in how far these representations are conducive to health technology decisions that support older people in meaningful and active lives. Our analysis builds on Callon’s recent distinction between prosthetic and habilitation social policies [M. Callon, Economic Markets and the Rise of Interactive Agencements: From Prosthetic Agencies to Habilitated Agencies, in: T. Pinch, R. Swedberg (Eds.), Living in a Material World: Economic Sociology Meets Science and Technology Studies, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 2008, pp. 29-56]. We revisit the results of two case studies that we conducted in the fields of Point-of-Care Diagnostics, set in the domains of primary and secondary care, and care robot service platforms operating in domestic environments. By contrasting these cases we demonstrate how a different logic of addressing values in innovation feeds into either prosthetic or habilitation policy decisions about health technology. Based on this analysis, we argue that HTA practices in the context of PHS need to incorporate a logic of valuing health technology in order to fully deliver the potential of PHS to the lives of older persons. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, health technology, ageing, user representation, care robots, HTA |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uis:wpaper:1302&r=ino |
| By: | Alessandra Colombelli (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis [UNS] - CNRS : UMR6227); Francesco Quatraro (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis [UNS]) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between the creation of new firms and the properties of the local knowledge bases, like coherence, cognitive distance and variety. By combining the literature on the knowledge spillovers of entrepreneurship and that on the recombinant knowledge approach, we posit that locally available knowledge matters to the entrepreneurial process, but the type of knowledge underlying theses dynamics deserve to be analyzed. The analysis is carried out on 104 Italian NUTS 3 regions observed over the time span 1995-2011. The results show that the complementarity degree of local knowledge is important, while increasing similarity yields negative effects. This suggests that the creation of new firms in Italy is associated to the exploitation of well established technological trajectories grounded on competences accumulated over time, although cognitive proximity is likely to engender lock-in effects and hinder such process. |
| Keywords: | New Firm Formation; Knowledge-Spillovers Theory of Entrepreneurship; Recombinant Knowledge; Knowledge Coherence; Variety; Cognitive Distance; Italy |
| Date: | 2013–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00858989&r=ino |
| By: | Herrmann, Benedikt (European Commission); Kritikos, Alexander S. (University of Potsdam, DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | Greece's currently planned institutional reforms will help to get the country going with limited economic growth. With an economy based primarily on tourism, trade, and agriculture, Greece lacks an established competitive industry and an innovation-friendly environment, resulting in a low export ratio given the small size of the country and its long-time EU-membership. Instead, Greece exports only its nation's talent, with low returns. To become prosperous, the country must better capitalize on its Eurozone membership and add innovative sectors to its economic structure. Given Greece's hidden assets, such as the attractiveness of the country, a small number of strong research centers and an impressive diaspora in research, finance and business, we envision a Greek "Silicon Valley" and propose a ten point policy plan to achieve that goal. |
| Keywords: | innovation, Greece, growth strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation systems, regulatory environment |
| JEL: | L2 L26 O3 O4 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7606&r=ino |