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Related Variety, Unrelated Variety and Technological Breakthroughs: An Analysis of U.S. State-Level Patenting

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  • Bart Los
  • Carolina Castaldi
  • Koen Frenken

Abstract

We investigate how variety affects the innovation output of a region. Borrowing arguments from theories of recombinant innovation, we expect that related variety will enhance innovation as related technologies are more easily recombined into a new technology. However, we also expect that unrelated variety enhances technological breakthroughs, since radical innovation often stems from connecting previously unrelated technologies opening up whole new functionalities and applications. Using patent data for US states in the period 1977-1999 and associated citation data, we find evidence for both hypotheses. Our study thus sheds a new and critical light on the related-variety hypothesis in economic geography.

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  • Bart Los & Carolina Castaldi & Koen Frenken, 2013. "Related Variety, Unrelated Variety and Technological Breakthroughs: An Analysis of U.S. State-Level Patenting," ERSA conference papers ersa13p524, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa13p524
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    Keywords

    Keywords: recombinant innovation; regional innovation; superstar patents; technological variety; evolutionary economic geography;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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