Working Paper: NBER ID: w22057
Authors: Hans K. Hvide; Benjamin F. Jones
Abstract: National policies take varied approaches to encouraging university-based innovation. This paper studies a natural experiment: the end of the “professor’s privilege” in Norway, where university researchers previously enjoyed full rights to their innovations. Upon the reform, Norway moved toward the typical U.S. model, where the university holds majority rights. Using comprehensive data on Norwegian workers, firms, and patents, we find a 50% decline in both entrepreneurship and patenting rates by university researchers after the reform. Quality measures for university start-ups and patents also decline. Applications to literatures on university technology transfer, innovation incentives, and taxes and entrepreneurship are considered.
Keywords: university innovation; professors privilege; patenting; entrepreneurship; Norway
JEL Codes: L26; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| end of professors privilege (A19) | increase in effective tax rate faced by university researchers (H29) |
| increase in effective tax rate faced by university researchers (H29) | decline in entrepreneurship rates among university researchers (L26) |
| end of professors privilege (A19) | decline in entrepreneurship rates among university researchers (L26) |
| end of professors privilege (A19) | decline in patenting rates among university researchers (O39) |
| increase in effective tax rate faced by university researchers (H29) | decline in patenting rates among university researchers (O39) |
| end of professors privilege (A19) | decline in quality of university startups (D29) |