Working Paper: NBER ID: w14043
Authors: Shihtse Lo; Dhanoos Sutthiphisal
Abstract: Scholars have long noted the significant impact of general purpose technologies (GPTs) on the economy. However, limited attention has been paid to exploring how they are employed to generate inventions in downstream sectors (crossover inventions), and what factors may facilitate such diffusion. We study these issues by examining the introduction of one of the widely regarded GPTs -- electrical technology -- in the late 19th century U.S. We find that knowledge spillovers between industries (inter-industry spillovers and learning-by-using) had little influence on the geography of crossover inventions as well as the speed and productivity of inventors at making them. Instead, appropriate human capital and an environment promoting inventions in general played a more important role.
Keywords: General Purpose Technologies; Knowledge Diffusion; Crossover Inventions; Electrical Technology
JEL Codes: N00; O03
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| interindustry spillovers (L69) | crossover inventions (O36) |
| learning-by-using (C91) | crossover inventions (O36) |
| human capital (J24) | crossover inventions (O36) |
| favorable conditions for invention (O31) | crossover inventions (O36) |