| Abstract: |
This paper provides new causal evidence of the impact of improvements in air
travel during the beginning of the Jet Age on the creation and diffusion of
knowledge. We digitize airlines’ historical flight schedules and construct a
novel data set of the flight network in the United States. Between 1951 and
1966, travel time between locations more than 2,000km apart decreased on
average by 41%. The reduction in travel time explains 33% of the increase in
knowledge diffusion as measured by patent citations. The increase in knowledge
diffusion further caused an increase in the creation of new knowledge. The
results provide evidence that jet airplanes led to innovation convergence
across locations and contributed to the shift in innovation activity towards
the South and the West of the United States. |