IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/roswps/71.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Age, human capital and the geography of innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Frosch, Katharina
  • Tivig, Thusnelda

Abstract

An aging labor force is often associated with a decreasing innovative performance on aggregate, firm or individual level. Using a regional knowledge production function to explain patenting activity in German districts, we propose to include the effect of age in a twofold specification: First, we account indirectly for age by including the aggregate, age-heterogeneous human capital available in each district and estimating its effect on patenting performance. Second, we assume that there is an age effect that is independent of human capital and therefore include the age structure of the districts' labor force directly, too. Possible explanations for an independent age-effect are age-dependent differences in the ability to exploit innovation-relevant human capital or age-specific motivation to lead creative ideas to successful inventions. Departing from these conceptualizations provided by economics and I-O psychology, we estimate a negative binomial regression model appropriate for count data. Results on German district level indicate that engineering knowledge in the younger as well as the prime age group significantly enhances patenting performance, whereas we do not find any efect for the age group 50+. However, for older ages, the stock of experience has a positive influence. On aggregate level, we find a positive independent age effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Frosch, Katharina & Tivig, Thusnelda, 2007. "Age, human capital and the geography of innovation," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 71, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:roswps:71
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/39773/1/610343998.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Fallick & Charles A. Fleischman & James B. Rebitzer, 2006. "Job-Hopping in Silicon Valley: Some Evidence Concerning the Microfoundations of a High-Technology Cluster," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(3), pages 472-481, August.
    2. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Mika Maliranta & Jari Vainiomäki, 2004. "The Roles of Employer and Employee Characteristics for Plant Productivity," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 249-276, May.
    3. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Michael Fritsch & Viktor Slavtchev, 2005. "The Role of Regional Knowledge for Innovation," ERSA conference papers ersa05p623, European Regional Science Association.
    5. Cameron, A Colin & Trivedi, Pravin K, 1986. "Econometric Models Based on Count Data: Comparisons and Applications of Some Estimators and Tests," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 29-53, January.
    6. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    7. Sherwin Rosen, 1975. "Measuring the Obsolescence of Knowledge," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Income, and Human Behavior, pages 199-232, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Gibbons, Robert & Murphy, Kevin J, 1992. "Optimal Incentive Contracts in the Presence of Career Concerns: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 468-505, June.
    9. Hausman, Jerry & Hall, Bronwyn H & Griliches, Zvi, 1984. "Econometric Models for Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(4), pages 909-938, July.
    10. Benjamin F. Jones, 2010. "Age and Great Invention," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 1-14, February.
    11. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2010. "Migration and innovation: Does cultural diversity matter for regional R&D activity?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(3), pages 563-585, August.
    13. Luc Anselin & Attila Varga & Zoltan Acs, 2008. "Geographical Spillovers and University Research: A Spatial Econometric Perspective," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 10, pages 122-134, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. K. J. Arrow, 1971. "The Economic Implications of Learning by Doing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: F. H. Hahn (ed.), Readings in the Theory of Growth, chapter 11, pages 131-149, Palgrave Macmillan.
    15. Leora Friedberg, 2003. "The Impact of Technological Change on Older Workers: Evidence from Data on Computer Use," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(3), pages 511-529, April.
    16. Samuel S. Kortum, 1997. "Research, Patenting, and Technological Change," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(6), pages 1389-1420, November.
    17. Henseke, Golo & Tivig, Thusnelda, 2007. "Demographic change and industry-specific innovation patterns in Germany," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 72, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    18. Evenson, Robert E & Kislev, Yoav, 1976. "A Stochastic Model of Applied Research," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(2), pages 265-281, April.
    19. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Jinyoung Kim & Sangjoon John Lee & Gerald Marschke, 2009. "Relation of Firm Size to R&D Productivity," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 8(1), pages 7-19, April.
    21. Coupe, Tom, 2003. "Science Is Golden: Academic R&D and University Patents," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 31-46, January.
    22. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Productivity and R&D at the Firm Level," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 100-133, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    24. Zvi Griliches, 1984. "R&D, Patents, and Productivity," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gril84-1.
    25. Hoisl, Karin, 2007. "Tracing mobile inventors--The causality between inventor mobility and inventor productivity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 619-636, June.
    26. Park, Ki Seong, 1997. "A Theory of On-the-Job Learning," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 38(1), pages 61-81, February.
    27. Bruno Crépon & Nicolas Deniau & Sébastien Perez-Duarte, 2003. "Productivité et salaire des travailleurs âgés," Revue Française d'Économie, Programme National Persée, vol. 18(1), pages 157-185.
    28. Bahk, Byong-Hong & Gort, Michael, 1993. "Decomposing Learning by Doing in New Plants," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(4), pages 561-583, August.
    29. Ariel Pakes & Zvi Griliches, 1984. "Patents and R&D at the Firm Level: A First Look," NBER Chapters, in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 55-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Callum Wilkie, 2019. "Innovating in less developed regions: What drives patenting in the lagging regions of Europe and North America," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 4-37, March.
    2. Arntz, Melanie & Gregory, Terry, 2014. "What old stagers could teach us: Examining age complementarities in regional innovation systems," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-050, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Audretsch & Marcel Hülsbeck & Erik Lehmann, 2012. "Regional competitiveness, university spillovers, and entrepreneurial activity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 587-601, October.
    2. Cohen, Wesley M., 2010. "Fifty Years of Empirical Studies of Innovative Activity and Performance," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 129-213, Elsevier.
    3. Iwasa, Tomoko & Odagiri, Hiroyuki, 2004. "Overseas R&D, knowledge sourcing, and patenting: an empirical study of Japanese R&D investment in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 807-828, July.
    4. Haschka, Rouven E. & Herwartz, Helmut, 2020. "Innovation efficiency in European high-tech industries: Evidence from a Bayesian stochastic frontier approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(8).
    5. de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Schoen, Anja & Wastyn, Annelies, 2014. "Selection bias in innovation studies: A simple test," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 287-299.
    6. Mancusi, Maria Luisa, 2004. "International spillovers and absorptive capacity: a cross-country, cross-sector analysis based on European patents and citations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6737, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Choi, Mincheol & Lee, Chang-Yang, 2021. "Technological diversification and R&D productivity: The moderating effects of knowledge spillovers and core-technology competence," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    8. T. Ravichandran & Shu Han & Sunil Mithas, 2017. "Mitigating Diminishing Returns to R&D: The Role of Information Technology in Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 812-827, December.
    9. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.
    10. Gurneeta Vasudeva & Jennifer W. Spencer & Hildy J. Teegen, 2013. "Bringing the Institutional Context Back In: A Cross-National Comparison of Alliance Partner Selection and Knowledge Acquisition," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 319-338, April.
    11. Antonelli, Cristiano & David, Paul, 2015. "The Generation of Knowledge as an Emergent System Property: An Introduction," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201540, University of Turin.
    12. Li, Xibao, 2011. "Sources of External Technology, Absorptive Capacity, and Innovation Capability in Chinese State-Owned High-Tech Enterprises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1240-1248, July.
    13. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Measuring the Returns to R&D," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1033-1082, Elsevier.
    14. Cristiano Antonelli & Alessandra Colombelli, 2017. "The locus of knowledge externalities and the cost of knowledge," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1151-1164, August.
    15. Grazia Cecere & Sascha Rexhäuser & Patrick Schulte, 2019. "From less promising to green? Technological opportunities and their role in (green) ICT innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 45-63, January.
    16. Katharina Frosch, 2009. "Do only new brooms sweep clean? A review on workforce age and innovation," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-005, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    17. Levin, Mark (Левин, Марк) & Matrosova, K. (Матросова, К.), 2016. "Research, Modeling and Process Management Dissemination of Innovations in Socio-Economic Systems [Исследование, Моделирование И Управление Процессами Распространения Инноваций В Социально-Экономиче," Working Papers 1443, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    18. Christodoulou, Demetris & Lev, Baruch & Ma, Le, 2018. "The productivity of Chinese patents: The role of business area and ownership type," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 107-124.
    19. Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno, 2013. "Skilled labour mobility, networks and knowledge creation in regions: a panel data approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), pages 191-212, August.
    20. Andrea Caragliu & Peter Nijkamp, 2008. "The Impact of Regional Absorptive Capacity on Spatial Knowledge Spillovers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-119/3, Tinbergen Institute.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    knowledge production function; regional innovation analysis; human capital; aging; demographic change; patents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:roswps:71. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ivrosde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.