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Identifying the Age Profile of Patent Citations

Author

Listed:
  • Aditi Mehta

    (Department of Economics, Boston University)

  • Marc Rysman

    (Department of Economics, Boston University)

  • Tim Simcoe

    (J.L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)

Abstract

Previous work studying the age distribution of citations for patents relies on functional form assumptions to address the co-linearity between the birth year, citation year, and age. This paper proposes a non-parametric identification strategy that uses the lag between application and grant as a source of exogenous variation. We show empirically that the “citation clock” starts only when a patent issues, and we examine the potential bias if our assumption is incorrect. We use our approach to re-examine some prior results on the citation age profile of patents from different technological fields. We discuss potential extensions into other research areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Aditi Mehta & Marc Rysman & Tim Simcoe, 2007. "Identifying the Age Profile of Patent Citations," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2007-021, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2007-021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Travaglini, Guido, 2008. "Dynamic GMM Estimation With Structural Breaks. An Application to Global Warming and its Causes," MPRA Paper 7108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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