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Patent Activity and Technical Change

Author

Listed:
  • Robert L. Basmann

    (Binghampton University)

  • Michael McAleer

    (School of Economics and Commerce)

  • Daniel Slottje

    (Southern Methodist University and FTI Consulting)

Abstract

As creations of the mind, intellectual property includes industrial property and copyrights. This paper presents an aggregate production function of the generalized Fechner-Thurstone (GFT) form to analyze the impact of an important component of intellectual industrial property, namely patent activity, on technical change in the USA for the period 1947-1981. Patents should alter isoquant maps, and measuring their elasticities is both intuitively and empirically appealing. We define a technology-changer as a variable that has an impact on the elasticity of the marginal rate of technical substitution (MRTS) between inputs of the GFT production function over time. Various types of US patent grant activity, specifically total, domestic, foreign, successful and unsuccessful patent applications, are used as instruments for the technology-changer. Using the GFT specification, the impacts of various technology-changers on the elasticity of the mrts between inputs are estimated directly. It is found that granted (or successful) patents, patents granted to foreign companies and individuals, total patent applications, and even unsuccessful patent applications, have significant impacts on the rates at which inputs are substituted for each other over time in production.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert L. Basmann & Michael McAleer & Daniel Slottje, 2007. "Patent Activity and Technical Change," DEA Working Papers 27, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d'Economía Aplicada.
    • Handle: RePEc:ubi:deawps:27
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Michalski, Tomasz, 2012. "Input substitutability, trade costs and location," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 57-59.
    2. Oh, Donghyun & Heshmati, Almas & Lööf, Hans, 2014. "Total factor productivity of Korean manufacturing industries: Comparison of competing models with firm-level data," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 25-36.
    3. Alejandro Barragán-Ocaña & Gerardo Reyes-Ruiz & Samuel Olmos-Peña & Hortensia Gómez-Viquez, 2020. "Approach to the identification of an alternative technological innovation index," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 23-45, January.
    4. Yongli Zhang & Sanggyun Na & Jianguang Niu & Beichen Jiang, 2018. "The Influencing Factors, Regional Difference and Temporal Variation of Industrial Technology Innovation: Evidence with the FOA-GRNN Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    GFT production function; patent activity; innovation; technical change; technology-changers; elasticity of the marginal rate of technical substitution.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • K1 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law

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