Working Paper: NBER ID: w11348
Authors: Pierre Azoulay; Waverly Ding; Toby Stuart
Abstract: We examine the individual, contextual, and institutional determinants of faculty patenting behavior in a panel dataset spanning the careers of 3,884 academic life scientists. Using a combination of discrete time hazard rate models and fixed effects logistic models, we find that patenting events are preceded by a flurry of publications, even holding constant time-invariant scientific talent and the latent patentability of a scientist's research. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect of this flurry is influenced by context --- such as the presence of coauthors who patent and the patent stock of the scientist's university. Whereas previous research emphasized that academic patenters are more accomplished on average than their non-patenting counterparts, our findings suggest that patenting behavior is also a function of scientific opportunities. This result has important implications for the public policy debate surrounding academic patenting.
Keywords: faculty patenting; academic entrepreneurship; scientific productivity; technology transfer
JEL Codes: O31; O32; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increased research output (O36) | higher patenting rates (O34) |
| latent patentability score (K13) | likelihood of applying for patents (O34) |
| mid-career academics (J44) | higher propensity to patent (O34) |
| presence of coauthors who have patented (O36) | likelihood of applying for a patent (O36) |
| university's patent stock (O34) | individual patenting likelihood (O34) |