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The Impact of Institutions on Innovation

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  • Silva, Rui
  • Donges, Alexander
  • Meier, Jean-Marie

Abstract

We study the impact of inclusive institutions on innovation using novel, hand-collected, county-level data for Imperial Germany. We use the timing and geography of the French occupation of different German regions after the French Revolution of 1789 as an instrument for institutional quality. We find that the number of patents per capita in counties with the longest occupation was more than double that in unoccupied counties. Among the institutional changes brought by the French, the introduction of the Code civil, ensuring equality before the law, and the promotion of commercial freedom through the abolition of guilds and trade licenses had a stronger effect on innovation than a reform that increased labor market mobility and an agricultural reform that broke up the power of rural oligarchs. We also document that the effect of institutions on innovation was particularly pronounced for high-tech innovation and that the increase in patenting activity due to better institutions translated into higher economic growth. Our findings highlight inclusive institutions as a first order determinant of innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Silva, Rui & Donges, Alexander & Meier, Jean-Marie, 2021. "The Impact of Institutions on Innovation," CEPR Discussion Papers 16212, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16212
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Donges, Alexander & Selgert, Felix, 2019. "The Consequences of Radical Patent-Regime Change," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203662, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Michel Serafinelli & Guido Tabellini, 2022. "Creativity over time and space," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, March.
    4. De Bruyn, Gianni & Freed, Paul G., 2025. "Workforce sleep and corporate innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(3).
    5. An, Jiafu & Chen, Boyang & Zhao, Ruoran, 2025. "Epidemic disease and innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    6. Michael Fritsch & Martin Obschonka & Fabian Wahl & Michael Wyrwich, 2021. "Cultural Imprinting: Ancient Origins of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Germany," Jena Economics Research Papers 2021-012, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    7. Hong Xu & Kai Lin & Hui Wang & Weifen Lin & Longzheng Du, 2025. "Does local green governance promote corporate green innovation? A new perspective from green officials," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 68(4), pages 1861-1892, April.
    8. Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle H. & Streb, Jochen, 2018. "Discrimination against Foreigners. The Wuerttemberg Patent Law in Administrative Practice," Working Papers 7, German Research Foundation's Priority Programme 1859 "Experience and Expectation. Historical Foundations of Economic Behaviour", Humboldt University Berlin.
    9. Fritsch, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Wahl, Fabian & Wyrwich, Michael, 2020. "The deep imprint of Roman sandals: Evidence of long-lasting effects of Roman rule on personality, economic performance, and well-being in Germany," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 05-2020, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    10. Hong Jiang & Weiting Xiong, 2024. "The Impact of Land-Use Mix on Technological Innovation: Evidence from a Grid-Cell-Level Analysis of Shanghai, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Leonard DUDLEY & Christopher RAUH, 2018. "Innovation Growth Clusters : Lessons from the Industrial Revolution," Cahiers de recherche 19-2018, Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en économie quantitative, CIREQ.
    12. Palmisano, Flaviana & Sacchi, Agnese, 2024. "Trust in public institutions, inequality, and digital interaction: Empirical evidence from European Union countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Gan Jin & Günther G. Schulze, 2024. "The Long-term Effect of Western Customs Institution on Firm Innovation in China," Discussion Paper Series 46 JEL Classification: N7, Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg, revised Feb 2024.
    14. Chiu, Ya-Ling & Luo, Jinbo & Boscaljon, Brian L., 2024. "The Mist of corporate innovation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 602-624.
    15. Daniel Gallardo‐Albarrán, 2020. "Sanitary infrastructures and the decline of mortality in Germany, 1877–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(3), pages 730-757, August.
    16. Kyriaki I. Kafka & Pantelis C. Kostis & Panagiotis E. Petrakis, 2022. "Institutional Effects on Innovation and the Requirements for Structural Reforms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(1), pages 211-235, March.
    17. Shanshan Wang & Hongyan Zhou & Tianyi Zhao, 2024. "Configuration paths to high-value patents: evidence from patents winning the China Patent Awards," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(5), pages 2633-2658, May.
    18. Danta, Subal & Rath, Badri Narayan, 2024. "Do institutional quality and human capital matter for innovation in case of Asian region?," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    19. Zhang, Min & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2024. "Government reform and innovation performance in China," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122728, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Hussinger, Katrin & Palladini, Lorenzo, 2025. "Do China's special economic zones increase incentives to invest in R&D?," ZEW Discussion Papers 25-028, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    21. Baghai, Ramin & Silva, Rui & Ye, Luofu, 2018. "Teams and Bankruptcy," CEPR Discussion Papers 13198, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    22. Billington, Stephen D. & Colvin, Christopher L. & Coyle, Christopher, 2025. "Financing innovation: The role of patent examination," QUCEH Working Paper Series 25-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    23. Alvina Sabah Idrees & Saima Sarwar, 2021. "State effectiveness, property rights and entrepreneurial behaviour as determinants of National Innovation," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 392-423, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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