Comparative Study of the Role of Institutions in Shaping Inventive Activity in Mid-Range Emerging Economies

Ervits Irina () and Żmuda Małgorzata ()
Additional contact information
Ervits Irina: Ph.D., Miami University of Ohio, Cologne Business School
Żmuda Małgorzata: Ph.D., Krakow University of Economics, Cologne Business School

Comparative Economic Research, 2016, vol. 19, issue 4, 85-105

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of institutions on national rates of inventive activity. Invention, part of the innovation process, is acknowledged as one of the driving forces behind economic growth, and patent statistics are frequently used as a measurable indicator of inventive output. Thus this paper explores the relationship between national patent statistics and measures of institutional quality. As a result of our research, the effect of the “threshold of inventive activity” was observed. This effect demonstrates that when countries reach a certain level of institutional development and attain a general institutional climate conducive to inventive activity, the number of patent applications begins to sharply increase. The paper contributes to the body of evidence that confirms that a combination of fundamental institutions like the rule of law or freedom of expression, which are not necessarily aimed at boosting innovation, create an overall environment conducive to patenting. We demonstrate that “mid-range emerging economies”,2 including those in Central and Eastern Europe3 (CEE), where the quality of institutions is lagging behind more developed counterparts and/or their influence is weak or sporadic, have not yet reached the threshold of inventive activity yet. However, those CEE countries that have acceded to the European Union first have made visible progress with respect to institutional quality and invention.

Keywords: innovation; patent statistics; inventive activity; institutions; institutional quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1515/cer-2016-0031 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:coecre:v:19:y:2016:i:4:p:85-105:n:5

DOI: 10.1515/cer-2016-0031

Access Statistics for this article

Comparative Economic Research is currently edited by Zofia Wysokińska

More articles in Comparative Economic Research from Sciendo
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().