Full Citation
Title: Comparing Historical Patent Datasets
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2019
ISBN:
ISSN: 1556-5068
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3415318
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID:
Abstract: I compare the strengths and weaknesses of five historical patent datasets and compare the suitability of each for use in innovation research. I first show that a number of historical sources exist that are nearly as complete as data on contemporary patenting. Second, I describe in detail differences across the datasets in terms of patent and inventor information included, reliability of provided information, and potential sample selection issues. Third, I show that while the datasets paint a remarkably consistent picture of aggregate invention through U.S. history, they contain important differences. In particular, differences in how patents are assigned to a location can produce statistically significant differences in estimates of the importance of agglomeration for invention. I discuss ways in which the different datasets can be used in conjunction with one another to improve inference.
Url: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3415318
Url: https://www.ssrn.com/abstract=3415318
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Andrews, Michael
Periodical (Full): SSRN Electronic Journal
Issue:
Volume:
Pages:
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Other, Population Data Science
Countries: United States