Abstract
This paper re-examines the shifting pattern of (utility) patents across the American metropolitan landscape during the recent period 1990–2015. Patent volumes and densities (per capita volumes) are both analyzed at five-year intervals. All results reflect a reconstituted data base that addresses the demographic, economic, and geographic conditions prevailing among the nation’s n = 377 metropolitan areas. Standard multivariate analysis is used to distill nearly twenty input variables down to six orthogonal factors. Using the underlying factor scores, performance scores for patenting are calculated across the metropolitan areas at regular points in time. When assembled in order, these cross-sectional scores trace out the performance trends of the various metropolitan economies over the 25-year study period. Linear regression procedures, adjusted for spatial dependency, indicate that two factors—human capital and human-created amenities—have become increasingly important determinants of patenting activity across U.S. metropolitan areas during recent times. A few straightforward policy prescriptions follow from the analysis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. (2012). Why nations fail. New York: Random House.
Albouy, D., Graf, W., Kellogg, R., & Wolff, H. (2016). Climate amenities, climate change, and American quality of life. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 3, 205–246. https://doi.org/10.1086/684573.
Albouy, D., Cho, H., & Shappo, M. (2019). Immigration and the pursuit of amenities. Journal of Regional Science, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12475.
Anselin, L., Varga, A., & Acs, Z. (1997). Local geographic spillovers between university research and high technology innovations. Journal of Urban Economics, 42, 422–448. https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1997.2032.
Balconi, M., Breschi, S., & Lissoni, F. (2004). Networks of inventors and the role of academia: An exploration of Italian patent data. Research Policy, 33, 127–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(03)00108-2.
Baumol, W., Litan, R., & Schramm, C. (2007). Good capitalism, bad capitalism, and the economics of growth and prosperity. New Haven: Yale University.
BizEE Degree Days (2018). https://www.degreedays.net. Accessed 1 November 2018.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (2018). Interactive tables: personal income and employment. https://www.bea.gov/regional/index.htm. Accessed 22 March 2018.
Capello, R. (2002). Spatial and sectoral characteristics of relational capital in innovation activity. European Planning Studies, 10, 177–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310120114481.
Carlino, G., & Saiz, A. (2019). Beautiful cities: Leisure amenities and urban growth. Journal of Regional Science, 59, 369–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12438.
Carruthers, J., & Mulligan, G. (2006). Environmental valuation: Connecting theory, evidence, and public policy. In J. Carruthers & B. Mundy (Eds.), Environmental valuation: interregional and intraregional perspectives (pp. 3–25). Burlington, VT: Ashgate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228645635.
Carruthers, J., & Mulligan, G. (2018). The regional adjustment model: An instrument of evidence-based policy. In R. Capello & P. Nijkamp (Eds.), Handbook of regional growth and development theories: Revised and extended second edition (pp. 607–627). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788970020.00039.
Clark, T. (2003). Urban amenities: Lakes, opera, and juice bars: Do they drive development? In T. Clark (Ed.), The city as an entertainment machine (pp. 103–140). Bingley: Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3520(03)09003-2.
Cooke, P. (1992). Regional innovation systems: Competitive regulation in the new Europe. Geoforum, 23, 365–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7185(92)90048-9.
Feldman, M. (1994). The geography of innovation. Boston: Kluwer.
Ferguson, M., Kamar, A., Olfert, R., & Partridge, M. (2007). Voting with their feet: Jobs versus amenities. Growth and Change, 38, 77–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2257.2007.00354.x.
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class. New York: Basic.
Florida, R. (2005). Cities and the creative class. New York: Routledge.
Fritsch, M. (2004). Cooperation and the efficiency of regional R&D activities. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 8, 829–846. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beh039.
Glaeser, E. (2007). Entrepreneurship and the city. In Working Paper 13551. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research https://www.nber.org/papers/w13551.
Glaeser, E. (2011). Triumph of the city. New York: Penguin.
Griliches, Z. (1990). Patent statistics as economic indicators: A survey. Journal of Economic Literature, 28, 1661–1707 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2727442.
Hall, P. (1998). Cities in civilization. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Jacobs, J. (1969). The economy of cities. New York: Random House.
Jaffe, A. (1989). Real effects of academic research. American Economic Review, 79, 957–970 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1831431.
Mokyr, J. (2009). The enlightened economy. London: Penguin.
Moretti, E. (2012). The new geography of jobs. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Mukherji, N., & Silberman, J. (2018). Knowledge flow among U.S. metro areas: Innovative activity, proximity, and the border effect. The Review of Regional Studies, 48, 193–216 https://ideas.repec.org/a/rre/publsh/v48y2018i2p193-216.
Mulligan, G. (2018). Patent generation in U.S. metropolitan areas. In I. Bernhard (Ed.), Diversity, innovation, entrepreneurship—Regional, urban, national and international perspectives (pp. 299–314). Trollhättan: University West https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333198898.
Mulligan, G., & Nilsson, H. (2019). Recent population and employment change in U.S. metropolitan areas: Endogenizing self-employment and patents. In I. Bernhard (Ed.), Unlocking the potential of regions through entrepreneurship and innovation (pp. 309–329). Trollhättan: University West.
Mulligan, G., Reid, N., & Moore, M. (2014). A typology of metropolitan labor markets in the U.S. Cities, 41, S12–S29. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12147, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338853756.
North, D. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Ó hUallacháin, B. (1999). Patent places: Size matters. Journal of Regional Science, 39, 613–636. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4146.00152.
Packalen, M., & Bhattacharya, J. (2015). Cities and ideas. In Working Paper 20921. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research https://www.nber.org/papers/w20921.
Porter, M. (1979). How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, March–April issue, 137–145. https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy.
Porter, M. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, January issue, 78–93. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5581445.
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rothwell, J., Lobo, J., Strumsky, D., & Muro, M. (2013). Patenting prosperity: Invention and economic performance in the United States and its metropolitan areas. Washington: Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/patenting-prosperity-rothwell.pdf. Accessed 20 March 2018.
Savageau, D. (2000). Places rated almanac (Millennium edition). New York: Hungry Minds.
Schumpeter, J. (1934). The theory of economic development. Cambridge: Harvard University.
Scott, A. (2007). Capitalism and urbanization in a new key? The cognitive-cultural dimension. Social Forces, 85, 1465–1482. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2007.0078.
Shearer, C., Shaw, I., Friedhoff, A., & Berube, A. (2018). Metro monitor 2018. https://www.brookings.edu/research/metro-monitor-2018. Accessed 18 March 2018.
Tsvetkova, A. (2015). Innovation, entrepreneurship, and metropolitan economic performance: Empirical test of recent theoretical propositions. Economic Development Quarterly, 29, 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242415581398.
U.S. Census Bureau (2018). https://www.census.gov. Accessed 19 March 2018.
U.S. Gazetteer Files (2018). https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.2018.html. Accessed 15 November 2018.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2018). Calendar year patent statistics: listing of all U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas, total patent utility counts, 2000–2015. https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/reports_cbsa.htm. Accessed 20 March 2018.
Acknowledgements
The author is very grateful to Helena A. K. Nilsson for her conceptual and editorial suggestions and for providing the results of the spatial econometrics in Tables 9 and 11. Helena’s position is at the Institute of Retail Economics and the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics at Jönköping International Business School in Jönköping, Sweden.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mulligan, G.F. Revisiting Patent Generation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: 1990–2015. Appl. Spatial Analysis 14, 473–496 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09354-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09354-3