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Does too much work hamper innovation? Evidence for diminishing returns of work hours for patent grants

Author

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  • Celbis, M.G.

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Turkeli, S.

    (UNU-MERIT)

Abstract

This study suggests that individual time is an important factor that needs to be considered in innovation research. We define two types of time work time and free time. We find that work time has a positive but diminishing effect on innovative output such that after a certain point the innovation-enhancing role of work time is taken over by individual free time. Using a sample of OECD countries and Russia, we estimate a quadratic relationship between work time and per capita innovative output. For a hypothetical economy that has no other holidays but weekends, we estimate that individuals should not work more than about 6.6 hours a day for maximizing innovative output. We also present a categorization of countries based on their innovative output and work hours that may kindle interest for certain case-specific future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Celbis, M.G. & Turkeli, S., 2014. "Does too much work hamper innovation? Evidence for diminishing returns of work hours for patent grants," MERIT Working Papers 2014-053, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2014053
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    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2014/wp2014-053.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee N. Davis & Jerome D. Davis & Karin Hoisl, 2013. "Leisure Time Invention," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1439-1458, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mehmet Güney Celbiş & Pui-Hang Wong & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021. "Innovativeness, Work Flexibility, and Place Characteristics: A Spatial Econometric and Machine Learning Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-29, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour economics; Labour policy; Innovation; Time allocation; Returns on R&D; OECD; Russia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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