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Invention in Times of Global Challenges: A Text-Based Study of Remote Sensing and Global Public Goods

Author

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  • Ingrid Ott

    (Chair of Economic Policy, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Simone Vannuccini

    (Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Économie et Gestion (GREDEG) Université Côte d’Azur, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, 06410 Biot, France)

Abstract

We study whether remote sensing (RS), a set of technologies with global reach and a variety of applications, can be considered instrumental to the provision of global public goods (GPG). We exploit text information from patent data and apply structural topic modeling to identify topics related (or relevant) to GPG provision, and trace their participation in the evolution of remote sensing technology over time. We develop a new indicator of affinity to GPG (and other themes) using meta information from our dataset. We find that, first, RS displays features of a general-purpose technology. Second, while peripheral, GPG-relevant topics are present in the RS topic space, and in some cases overlap with topics with high affinity in AI and participation of public sector actors in invention. With our analysis, we contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between the dynamics of technology and (global) political economy, a field of research yet under-explored.

Suggested Citation

  • Ingrid Ott & Simone Vannuccini, 2023. "Invention in Times of Global Challenges: A Text-Based Study of Remote Sensing and Global Public Goods," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:11:y:2023:i:8:p:207-:d:1209106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Margaret E. Roberts & Brandon M. Stewart & Edoardo M. Airoldi, 2016. "A Model of Text for Experimentation in the Social Sciences," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 111(515), pages 988-1003, July.
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    4. Clifford Bekar & Kenneth Carlaw & Richard Lipsey, 2018. "General purpose technologies in theory, application and controversy: a review," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(5), pages 1005-1033, December.
    5. Edoardo M. Airoldi & Jonathan M. Bischof, 2016. "Improving and Evaluating Topic Models and Other Models of Text," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 111(516), pages 1381-1403, October.
    6. Inge Kaul, 2012. "Global Public Goods: Explaining their Underprovision," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 729-750, September.
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