Crossover Inventions And Knowledge Diffusion Of General Purpose Technologies? Evidence From The Electrical Technology / Shih-tse Lo, Dhanoos Sutthiphisal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lo, Shih-tse.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Sutthiphisal, Dhanoos.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w14043.

NBER working paper series no. w14043

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2008.

Summary:

Scholars have long noted the significant impact of general purpose technologies (GPTs) on the economy. However, limited attention has been paid to exploring how they are employed to generate inventions in downstream sectors (crossover inventions), and what factors may facilitate such diffusion. We study these issues by examining the introduction of one of the widely regarded GPTs -- electrical technology -- in the late 19th century U.S. We find that knowledge spillovers between industries (inter-industry spillovers and learning-by-using) had little influence on the geography of crossover inventions as well as the speed and productivity of inventors at making them. Instead, appropriate human capital and an environment promoting inventions in general played a more important role.

Notes:

Print version record

May 2008.