Inventor mobility and productivity: a long-run perspective

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of mobility on inventor productivity. Unlike most previous literature in this field, we separate the impact of firm mobility from geographical mobility. Our paper is also novel because of the long period of investigation. We report how the different forms of mobility, and their impacts, have changed over the period 1836–1975 using US patent data. Mobility is identified for serial inventors who change assignee and/or location over time. Firm mobility and geographical mobility increase throughout the period examined, with only temporary reversals around the Great Depression and Second World War. Comparisons across matched samples of mobile and immobile inventors reveal that firm mobility and spatial mobility raise the patent productivity of inventors, the former having the largest impact. Inventor productivity increases for up to 15 years following a mobility event, suggesting a process of adjustment after a move.