Foreign inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality

Edoardo Ferrucci and Francesco Lissoni

Research Policy, 2019, vol. 48, issue 9, -

Abstract: We explore the impact of migrant inventors on patent quality in Europe and the United States between 1990 and 2010. Drawing on a large sample of patent applications filed at the European Patent Office with a corresponding Patent Cooperation Treaty extension, we select inventor teams whose members reside in the countries of interest, but whose nationality may vary. In keeping with the literature, we find that migrant inventors are associated with higher quality patents via increased diversity at the team level, in addition to increased diversity at both the company and local level. This positive relationship with diversity persists after conditioning for the presence of migrants in the team, which is suggestive of cultural, and not merely functional, diversity.

Keywords: International migration; Diversity; Inventive activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J24 O31 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Foreign Inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2019)
Working Paper: Foreign Inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2019)
Working Paper: Foreign inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2019)
Working Paper: Foreign Inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2018)
Working Paper: Foreign Inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2016)
Working Paper: Foreign Inventors in Europe and the United States: Diversity and Patent Quality (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:9:5

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.03.019

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