| By: |
Astebro , Thomas B;
Braguinsky , Serguey;
Braunerhjelm , Pontus;
Broström , Anders |
| Abstract: |
Should society encourage scientists at universities to become entrepreneurs?
Using data on U.S. university-employed scientists with a Ph.D. in STEM
disciplines leaving their university to become entrepreneurs during 1993-2006
and similar data from Sweden we show evidence suggesting that owning your idea
outright (the “Professor’s Privilege”) rather than sharing ownership with your
university employer (the Bayh-Dole regime) is strongly positively associated
with the rate of academic entrepreneurship but not with apparent economic gain
for the entrepreneur. Further analysis show that in both countries there is
too much entry into entrepreneurship, and selection from the bottom of the
ability distribution among scientists. Targeted policies aimed at screening
entrepreneurial decisions by younger, tenure-track academics may therefore
produce more benefits for society than general incentives. |
| Keywords: |
Academic entrepreneurship; economic incentives; Bayh-Dole; Professor’s Privilege |
| JEL: |
J20 L26 N32 |
| Date: |
2016–02 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1118&r=sog |