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The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond

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  • Josh Lerner
  • Amit Seru

Abstract

Patents and citations are powerful tools increasingly used in financial economics (and management research more broadly) to understand innovation. Biases may result, however, from the interactions between the truncation of patents and citations and the changing composition of inventors. When aggregated at the firm level, these patent and citation biases can survive popular adjustment methods and are correlated with firm characteristics. These issues can lead to problematic inferences. We provide an actionable checklist to avoid biased inferences and also suggest machine learning as a potential new way to address these problems.Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online

Suggested Citation

  • Josh Lerner & Amit Seru, 2022. "The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(6), pages 2667-2704.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:35:y:2022:i:6:p:2667-2704.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhab084
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Aakash Kalyani & Nicholas Bloom & Marcela Carvalho & Tarek Alexander Hassan & Josh Lerner & Ahmed Tahoun, 2021. "The Diffusion of New Technologies," NBER Working Papers 28999, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Guderian, Carsten C. & Posth, Jan-Alexander & Grob, Linus, 2023. "Investment decisions and passive portfolio construction utilizing patent analytics: A multi-case study on COVID-19 treatment technologies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 66-87.
    4. Marcin Borsuk & Nicolas Eugster & Paul-Olivier Klein & Oskar Kowalewski, 2023. "Family Firms and Carbon Emissions," NBP Working Papers 361, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    5. Donald E. Bowen & Laurent Frésard & Gerard Hoberg, 2023. "Rapidly Evolving Technologies and Startup Exits," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(2), pages 940-967, February.
    6. Simeth, Markus & Wehrheim, David, 2024. "On “Innovation and institutional ownership”," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. Bendig, David & Göttel, Vincent & Eckardt, David & Schulz, Colin, 2024. "Human capital in corporate venture capital units and its relation to parent firms' innovative performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
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    9. Tarek A. Hassan & Stephan Hollander & Aakash Kalyani & Markus Schwedeler & Ahmed Tahoun & Laurence van Lent, 2024. "Economic Surveillance using Corporate Text," Working Papers 2024-022, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    10. Zheng, Panpan & Li, Zhen & Zhuang, Ziyin, 2024. "The impact of COVID-19 on corporate digital innovation in China: A study based on the DDD model," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    11. Dyer, Travis A. & Glaeser, Stephen & Lang, Mark H. & Sprecher, Caroline, 2024. "The effect of patent disclosure quality on innovation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).
    12. Dong, Hanmin & Zhang, Lin & Zheng, Huanhuan, 2024. "Green bonds: Fueling green innovation or just a fad?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    13. Kim, Jinhwan & Valentine, Kristen, 2023. "Public firm disclosures and the market for innovation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1).
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    15. Matthias Niggli & Christian Rutzer, 2023. "Digital technologies, technological improvement rates, and innovations “Made in Switzerland”," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 159(1), pages 1-31, December.
    16. Josef Taalbi & Mikhail Martynovich, 2024. "On the urban bias of patents and the scaling of innovation," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2422, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2024.
    17. El Ghoul, Sadok & Gong, Zhaoran (Jason) & Guedhami, Omrane & Hou, Fangfang & Tong, Wilson H.S., 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Cai, Guowei & Zhang, Xuejiao & Yang, Hao, 2023. "Capacity utilization shifting or resource-seeking? Benefits for Chinese enterprises participating in the belt and road initiative," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
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    20. Lena Abou El-Komboz & Thomas A. Fackler & Moritz Goldbeck & Thomas Fackler, 2024. "Productivity Spillovers among Knowledge Workers in Agglomerations: Evidence from GitHub," CESifo Working Paper Series 11277, CESifo.
    21. Marcin Borsuk & Nicolas Eugster & Paul-Olivier Klein & Oskar Kowalewski, 2024. "Family firms and carbon emissions," Post-Print hal-04710120, HAL.
    22. Hu, Yi & Jin, Shuchang & Ni, Juan & Peng, Kai & Zhang, Lei, 2023. "Strategic or substantive green innovation: How do non-green firms respond to green credit policy?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    23. Aldatmaz, Serdar & Celikyurt, Ugur, 2023. "The effect of venture capital backing on innovation in newly public firms," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

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