Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP18147
Authors: Thor Berger; Erik Prawitz
Abstract: This paper examines the identity and origins of Swedish inventors prior to World War I drawing on the universe of patent records linked to census data. We document that the rise of innovation during Sweden’s industrialization can largely be attributed to a small industrial elite belonging to the upper-tail of the economic, educational, and social status distribution. Analyzing children’s opportunities to become an inventor, we show that inventors were disproportionately drawn from privileged family backgrounds. However, among the middle- and working-class children that managed to overcome the barriers to entry, innovation was a path to upward mobility.
Keywords: innovation; inventors; intergenerational mobility
JEL Codes: O31; J62; I25
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Family background (J12) | Likelihood of becoming an inventor (O31) |
| Parental income (D31) | Likelihood of becoming an inventor (O31) |
| Social status (I31) | Likelihood of becoming an inventor (O31) |
| Elite family background (I24) | Higher rates of innovation (O39) |
| Barriers to entry (D43) | Misallocation of talent (D29) |
| Innovation (O35) | Upward mobility (J62) |
| Family background (J12) | Intergenerational income mobility (J62) |
| Family background (J12) | Occupational mobility (J62) |