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Inventive Activity in Early Industrial America: Evidence From Patent Records, 1790 - 1846

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Author Info
Kenneth L. Sokoloff
Abstract

A sample of patent records from the United States between 1790 and 1846 is employed to study the patterns in inventive activity. Patenting was pro-cyclical, and yet began to grow rapidly with the interruptions in foreign trade that preceded the War of 1812. A strong association between patenting and proximity to navigable waterways is also demonstrated. Although the importance of specific mechanisms remains unclear, both the temporal and cross-sectional evidence imply that inventive activity was positively related to the growth of markets during early industrialization.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 2707.

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Date of creation: Sep 1988
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2707

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  1. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2003. "Institutional and Non-Institutional Explanations of Economic Differences," NBER Working Papers 9989, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Howard Bodenhorn, 2004. "Bank Chartering and Political Corruption in Antebellum New York: Free Banking as Reform," NBER Working Papers 10479, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jeremy Atack & Fred Bateman & Robert A. Margo, 2001. "Part-Year Operation in Nineteenth Century American Manufacturing: Evidence from the 1870 and 1880 Censuses," Working Papers 0106, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, revised Mar 2001. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Rosenberg, Nathan & Trajtenberg, Manuel, 2001. "A General Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the Late 19th Century," CEPR Discussion Papers 3008, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Kenneth L Sokoloff & Zorina Kahn, 2003. "Intellectual Property Institutions in the United States: Early Development and Comparative Perspective," Levine's Working Paper Archive 618897000000000525, David K. Levine. [Downloadable!]
  6. Jordan Rappaport & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2001. "The U.S. as a coastal nation," Research Working Paper RWP 01-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
  7. B. Zorina Khan & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2001. "The Early Development of Intellectual Property Institutions in the United States," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 233-246, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Naomi R. Lamoreaux & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 1997. "Location and Technological Change in the American Glass Industry During the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries," NBER Working Papers 5938, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Petra Moser, 2003. "How Do Patent Laws Influence Innovation? Evidence from Nineteenth-Century World Fairs," NBER Working Papers 9909, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Jeremy Atak & Fred Bateman & Robert A. Margo, 2001. "Part-Year Operation in 19th Century American Manufacturing: Evidence from the 1870 and 1880 Censuses," Macroeconomics 0105001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Zorina Khan & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2004. "Institutions and Democratic Invention in 19th-Century America: Evidence from "Great Inventors," 1790–1930," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 395-401, May. [Downloadable!]
  12. Howard Bodenhorn, 2004. "Free Banking and Bank Entry in Nineteenth-Century New York," NBER Working Papers 10654, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. B. Zorina Khan & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2004. "Institutions and Technological Innovation During the Early Economic Growth: Evidence from the Great Inventors of the United States, 1790-1930," NBER Working Papers 10966, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Paul Romer, 1991. "Endogenous Technological Change," NBER Working Papers 3210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Sukkoo Kim, 1996. "Changing structure of U.S. regions: a historical perspective," Assessing the Midwest Economy SP-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  16. B. Zorina Khan & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2004. "Institutions and Technological Innovation During Early Economic Growth: Evidence from the Great Inventors of the United States, 1790 – 1930," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  17. Edward L. Glaeser, 2003. "Reinventing Boston: 1640-2003," NBER Working Papers 10166, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Beatty, Edward & Saiz, J. Patricio, 2007. "Industrial Property Institutions, Patenting, and Technology Investment in Spain and Mexico, c. 1820-1914," Working Papers in Economic History 2007/02, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History). [Downloadable!]
  19. Douglas A. Irwin & Joseph H. Davis, 2003. "Trade Disruptions and America's Early Industrialization," NBER Working Papers 9944, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Michelle P. Connolly, 1997. "Technological diffusion through trade and imitation," Staff Reports 20, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
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