Working Paper: NBER ID: w12669
Authors: Lynne G. Zucker; Michael R. Darby; Jonathan Furner; Robert C. Liu; Hongyan Ma
Abstract: The rate of regional growth of new knowledge in the field of nanotechnology, as measured by counts of articles and patents in the open-access digital library NanoBank, is shown to be positively affected both by the size of existing regional stocks of recorded knowledge in all scientific fields, and the extent to which tacit knowledge in all fields flows between institutions of different organizational types. The level of federal funding has a large, robust impact on both publication and patenting. The data provide further support for the cumulative advantage model of knowledge production, and for ongoing efforts to institutionalize channels through which cross-organizational collaboration may be achieved.
Keywords: knowledge production; nanotechnology; knowledge stocks; knowledge flows; cross-institutional collaboration
JEL Codes: O31; O33; R11; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cumulative stock of non-nanotechnology articles (O47) | Production of nanotechnology articles (O32) |
| Cumulative stock of non-nanotechnology patents (O34) | Production of nanotechnology patents (O34) |
| Flow of cross-institutionally co-authored articles (O36) | Production of nanotechnology articles (O32) |
| Flow of cross-institutionally co-authored articles (O36) | Production of nanotechnology patents (O34) |
| Federal funding from the NSF (I23) | Production of nanotechnology articles (O32) |
| Federal funding from the NSF (I23) | Production of nanotechnology patents (O34) |