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The Technology Frontier and the Rise and Fall of Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Enrico Berkes

    (Northwestern University)

  • Marti Mestieri

    (Northwestern University)

  • Ricardo Dahis

    (Northwestern University)

Abstract

Abstract We analyze the universe of U.S. patents over the period 1830-2015. We document how innovation patterns have evolved over time and space, paying special attention to the evolution of leading technological sectors and the location of innovation hubs. We infer the leading technologies at different points in time from the evolution of the patent citation network. We document the rise and fall in prominence of different technologies and show that the technology frontier has moved towards more income elastic and skill-intensive sectors. We document innovation patterns at the city level using geocoded information for all patents in our sample. We find that innovation has become more clustered in space over time and, at the same time, the average distance between inventors of a patent has also increased over time. We then analyze whether the technological mix of a city has predictive power for future city growth. We also explore whether recombinant growth has become more prominent over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrico Berkes & Marti Mestieri & Ricardo Dahis, 2018. "The Technology Frontier and the Rise and Fall of Cities," 2018 Meeting Papers 1129, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed018:1129
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