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Inventors among the “Impoverished Sophisticate”

Author

Listed:
  • Berger, Thor

    (Department of Economic History & Centre for Economic Demography, School of Economics and Management, Lund University)

  • Prawitz, Erik

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

Abstract

This paper examines the identity and origins of Swedish inventors prior to World War I drawing on the universe of patent records linked to census data. We document that the rise of innovation during Sweden’s industrialization can largely be attributed to a small industrial elite belonging to the upper-tail of the economic, educational, and social status distribution. Analyzing children’s opportunities to become an inventor, we show that inventors were disproportionately drawn from privileged family backgrounds. However, among the middle- and working-class children that managed to overcome the barriers to entry, innovation was a path to upward mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Berger, Thor & Prawitz, Erik, 2023. "Inventors among the “Impoverished Sophisticate”," Working Paper Series 1462, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1462
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; Inventors; Intergenerational mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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