Working Paper: NBER ID: w29179
Authors: Wei Cheng; Bruce A. Weinberg
Abstract: The diffusion and use of new ideas is critical for producing innovations and realizing their potential. We explore how characteristics of innovators and potential adopters affect the adoption of important, new scientific ideas in networks. Using rich data on biomedical researchers and their networks, natural language processing, and a novel two-way fixed effects strategy, we find that new ideas introduced by female scientists are under-utilized for two reasons. First, female innovators are less connected than men. Second, at short network distances, researchers (especially men) adopt women’s ideas less. Similar gaps hold for underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities.
Keywords: scientific ideas; gender disparities; racial disparities; innovation; biomedical research
JEL Codes: D85; J71; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Female innovators (O35) | lower adoption rates of ideas (O36) |
| Network distance (D85) | adoption rates (J13) |
| Gender of innovator (O35) | adoption of ideas (O36) |
| Underrepresented minorities (J15) | lower adoption rates of ideas (O36) |
| Controlling for potential adopter fixed effects (C92) | minority of disparity in adoption rates (J15) |
| Characteristics of innovators (gender) (O35) | adoption rates of ideas (O36) |