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New Ideas in Invention

Author

Listed:
  • Mikko Packalen
  • Jay Bhattacharya

Abstract

A key decision in research is whether to try out new ideas or build on more established ideas. In this paper, we evaluate which type of work is more likely to spur further invention. When recent advances create superior opportunities for invention, their adoption as research inputs in the invention process promotes technological progress. The gains from pursuing such innovative research paths may, however, be very limited as new ideas are often initially raw and poorly understood. We determine idea inputs in invention based on the text of nearly every US patent granted during 1836–2010. We find that inventions that build on new ideas early are more likely to spur subsequent invention than inventions that rely on ideas of older vintage. Our results are important because they suggest a benefit from encouraging and supporting innovative research that tries out new ideas — avoiding stagnation in technological advance.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikko Packalen & Jay Bhattacharya, 2015. "New Ideas in Invention," NBER Working Papers 20922, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20922
    Note: EH PR
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kong, Nancy & Dulleck, Uwe & Jaffe, Adam B. & Sun, Shupeng & Vajjala, Sowmya, 2023. "Linguistic metrics for patent disclosure: Evidence from university versus corporate patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    2. Sijie Feng, 2020. "The proximity of ideas: An analysis of patent text using machine learning," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Mikko Packalen & Jay Bhattacharya, 2017. "Neophilia ranking of scientific journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(1), pages 43-64, January.
    4. Adam B. Jaffe & Gaétan de Rassenfosse, 2017. "Patent citation data in social science research: Overview and best practices," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(6), pages 1360-1374, June.
    5. Matthew Clancy & Paul Heisey & Yongjie Ji & GianCarlo Moschini, 2020. "The Roots of Agricultural Innovation: Patent Evidence of Knowledge Spillovers," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Research and Innovation in Agriculture, pages 21-75, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Jay Bhattacharya & Mikko Packalen, 2020. "Stagnation and Scientific Incentives," NBER Working Papers 26752, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Mikko Packalen & Jay Bhattacharya, 2015. "Cities and Ideas," NBER Working Papers 20921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Kristóf Gyódi & Łukasz Nawaro & Michał Paliński & Maciej Wilamowski, 2023. "Informing policy with text mining: technological change and social challenges," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 933-954, February.
    9. Arts, Sam & Hou, Jianan & Gomez, Juan Carlos, 2021. "Natural language processing to identify the creation and impact of new technologies in patent text: Code, data, and new measures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(2).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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