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Social credit and patent quality: Evidence from China

Author

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  • Hu, Shan
  • Yu, Yongze
  • Fei, Qingyu

Abstract

We combine the discredited people database disclosed by the China People’s Supreme Court and the China industry business performance database from 2003 to 2014 and examine the effect of regional social credit on the quality of patents, measured by knowledge breadth. We find that a loss of social credit can result in a significant decline in patent quality. The result remains robust to a series of sensitivity checks, including using the alternative measures of key variables and exploiting the number of missionary universities established since the Opium War as an instrument for social credit. The possible mechanisms for the effect of social credit on patent quality are further verified, including attenuating external financing constraints and enhancing the innovation incentive.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Shan & Yu, Yongze & Fei, Qingyu, 2023. "Social credit and patent quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:s1049007822001269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2022.101570
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social credit; Patent quality; Knowledge breadth; Missionary university; Innovation incentive;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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