Impacts of epidemics on innovation: An empirical analysis

Jun Wen, Siqin Wang, Xiuyun Yang and Xiaozhou Zhou

Technovation, 2023, vol. 119, issue C

Abstract: Using data from 112 countries from 1998 to 2018, this study quantifies the overall impact of epidemics on innovation and identifies the underlying channels. Our results show that a 1% increase in the severity of an epidemic can significantly lead to a 0.059% decrease in patent applications and a 0.092% decrease in trademark applications. This negative impact can be explained by GDP, population and R&D expenditure channels. Further, our findings indicate that an increase in international personnel exchange (IPE) and foreign direct investment (FDI) can mitigate this negative impact. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our results.

Keywords: Epidemics; Technological innovation; Global health system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 O30 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:techno:v:119:y:2023:i:c:s0166497222001845

DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102634

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