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The knowledge filter, Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth

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Author Info

  • Carlsson, Bo

    () (Case Western Reserve University)

  • Acs, Zoltan

    () (University of Baltimore)

  • Audretsch, David

    () (Max-Planck Institute)

  • Braunerhjelm, Pontus

    () (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between knowledge creation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth in the United States over the last 150 years. According to the “new growth theory,” investments in knowledge and human capital generate economic growth via spillovers of knowledge. But the theory does not explain how or why spillovers occur, or why large investments in R&D do not always result in economic growth. What is missing is “the knowledge filter” - the distinction between general knowledge and economically useful knowledge. Also missing is a mechanism (such as entrepreneurship) converting economically relevant knowledge into economic activity. This paper shows that the unprecedented increase in R&D spending in the United States during and after World War II was converted into economic activity via incumbent firms in the early postwar period and increasingly via new ventures in the last few decades.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies in its series Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation with number 104.

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Length: 52 pages
Date of creation: 11 Dec 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0104

Contact details of provider:
Postal: CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 790 95 63
Web page: http://www.infra.kth.se/cesis/
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Related research

Keywords: knowledge; economic growth; entrepreneurship; spillovers; history;

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References

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  1. Robert H. McGuckin & Robert Inklaar & Bart van Ark & Sean M. Dougherty, 2004. "The Structure of Business R&D: Recent Trends and Measurement Implications," Economics Program Working Papers 04-01, The Conference Board, Economics Program.
  2. Zoltan Acs & Lawrence Plummer, 2005. "Penetrating the ``knowledge filter'' in regional economies," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 439-456, 09.
  3. Carlsson, Bo, 1984. "The development and use of machine tools in historical perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 91-114, March.
  4. Acs, Zoltan & Audrestch, David & Braunerhjelm, Pontus & Carlsson, Bo, 2007. "The Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 77, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
  5. Samuel Kortum & Josh Lerner, 2000. "Assessing the Contribution of Venture Capital to Innovation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(4), pages 674-692, Winter.
  6. Zoltan J. Acs & David B. Audretsch & Pontus Braunerhjelm & Bo Carlsson, 2005. "Growth and Entrepreneurship: An Empirial Assessment," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-32, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
  7. Maddison, Angus, 1987. "Growth and Slowdown in Advanced Capitalist Economies: Techniques of Quantitative Assessment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 25(2), pages 649-98, June.
  8. Acs, Zoltan J & Audretsch, David B, 1987. "Innovation, Market Structure, and Firm Size," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(4), pages 567-74, November.
  9. Blau, David M, 1987. "A Time-Series Analysis of Self-employment in the United State," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 445-67, June.
  10. Rosenberg, Nathan & Nelson, Richard R., 1994. "American universities and technical advance in industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 323-348, May.
  11. Winter, Sidney G., 1984. "Schumpeterian competition in alternative technological regimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 287-320.
  12. Edmund S. Phelps, 2006. "Understanding the Great Changes in the World: Gaining Ground and Losing Ground since World War II," Capitalism and Society, De Gruyter, vol. 1(2), pages 3.
  13. Furman, Jeffrey L. & MacGarvie, Megan J., 2007. "Academic science and the birth of industrial research laboratories in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 756-776, August.
  14. Jeffrey L. Furman & Megan MacGarvie, 2007. "Academic Science and the Birth of Industrial Research Laboratories in the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry," NBER Chapters, in: Academic Science and Entrepreneurship: Dual Engines of Growth National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  15. Gartner, William B. & Shane, Scott A., 1995. "Measuring entrepreneurship over time," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 283-301, July.
  16. Rosenberg, Nathan, 1992. "Scientific instrumentation and university research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 381-390, August.
  17. Zoltan J. Acs & Bo Carlsson & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch, . "The Missing Link," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2005-08, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
  18. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
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Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. The “Knowledge Filter” and the New Economy
    by Dick Langlois in Organizations and Markets on 2010-05-28 19:21:44
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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Cited by:
  1. Zoltan Acs & Lawrence Plummer & Ryan Sutter, 2009. "Penetrating the knowledge filter in “rust belt” economies," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 989-1012, December.
  2. Jan Gunnarsson & Torsten Wallin, 2011. "An evolutionary approach to regional systems of innovation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 321-340, May.
  3. Gurrieri, Antonia Rosa, 2008. "Knowledge network dissemination in a family-firm sector," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2380-2389, December.
  4. Zoltan Acs & Lawrence A. Plummer & Ryan Sutter, 2007. "Penetrating the Knowledge Filter in the Rust Belt," Jena Economic Research Papers 2007-058, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics.

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  1. Socio-Economics of Innovation

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