The effects of terrorist attacks on inventor productivity and mobility

Eliezer M. Fich, Tung Nguyen and Dimitris Petmezas

Research Policy, 2023, vol. 52, issue 1

Abstract: We investigate the impact of deadly terrorist attacks on inventor productivity and mobility in the U.S. During the five-year window after such events, nearby firms generate fewer and less impactful inventions. Moreover, their inventors typically exhibit a post-attack decline in their patent production, unless they move to a distant company (which some tend to do after an attack). Firms' financial constraints and inventor talent appear to provide channels underlying our productivity and mobility findings, respectively. These results provide novel insights about the impact of shocks that distort the invention process and promote the mobility and reallocation of inventors among firms.

Keywords: Terrorism; Inventions; Patents; Citations; Inventor productivity; Inventor mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G41 J24 J28 J61 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:1:s0048733322001767

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2022.104655

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