OECD Regional Development Working Papers

ISSN :
2073-7009 (online)
DOI :
10.1787/20737009
Hide / Show Abstract
Working papers from the Regional Development Policy Division of the OECD cover a full range of topics including regional statistics and analysis, urban governance and economics, rural governance and economics, and multi-level governance. Depending on the programme of work, the papers can cover specific topics such as regional innovation and networks, the determinants of regional growth or fiscal consolidation at the sub-national level.
 

Tell Me Who You Patent With and I'll Tell You Who You Are

Evidence from Inter-Regional Patenting Networks in Three Emerging Technological Fields You or your institution have access to this content

Authors:
Giulia Ajmone Marsan1, Annalisa Primi1
Author Affiliations
  • 1: OECD, France

Publication Date
20 Mar 2012
Bibliographic information
No:
2012/03
Pages
42
DOI
10.1787/5k9cwmtrtwg1-en

Hide / Show Abstract

This paper presents an overview of co-patenting trends at the national and regional level in three technology fields (biotechnology, telecommunications and renewable energy), across regions in the OECD and emerging economies, from the late 1970s to the late 2000s. After a general introduction on regional patenting activities, inter-regional co-inventorship networks in the three selected technologies are built and analysed. Different behaviors and relative network positioning emerge, in terms of top patenting regions both across technological fields and over time. Co-patenting networks increase their density over time and they show preferential attachment properties, namely regions with a central position in an early phase of development of the network tend to maintain their positioning in the future. However, there are also windows of opportunity for new central nodes to emerge in the network. Evidence shows that the structure of the network evolves differently depending on technological field and that the role of spatial proximity and capability proximity is mixed in influencing co-inventorship patterns. Co-patenting networks include star players that establish connections regardless of the proximity of partners; but also several wellperforming actors that benefit from proximity or relative proximity of agents.
Keywords:
patents, co-inventorship, biotechnology, regional innovation, ICT, network analysis, green technologies
JEL Classification:
  • D85: Microeconomics / Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty / Network Formation and Analysis: Theory
  • L00: Industrial Organization / General / General
  • O1: Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth / Economic Development
  • O25: Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth / Development Planning and Policy / Industrial Policy
  • O3: Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth / Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights
  • R12: Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics / General Regional Economics / Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity