Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP1433
Authors: Paul A. Geroski; John Van Reenen; Chris F. Walters
Abstract: This paper examines the innovative history of a number of UK firms using two large databases, looking for evidence consistent with the view that firms who innovate typically do so persistently. The first sample contains 3,304 firms who registered at least one patent in the United States during the period 1969?88, while the second consists of 1,624 firms who produced at least one major innovation at any time in the United Kingdom from 1945?82. Both datasets yield the same conclusion, namely that very few innovative firms are persistently innovative.
Keywords: innovation; patents; duration dependence
JEL Codes: O31; O32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| initial innovative activity (patenting) (O31) | length of innovation spells (O31) |
| higher initial number of patents (O34) | longer patenting spells (O34) |
| three or more major innovations (O39) | higher likelihood of sustaining innovation spells (O31) |
| one patent (O34) | lower likelihood of ongoing patenting (O39) |