Johnson, Matthew S.; Lipsitz, Michael; Pei, Alison - National Bureau of Economic Research - 2023
Worker mobility across firms can enhance innovation by spreading knowledge, but such mobility may also hinder … innovation by making firms reluctant to invest in R&D. A common way that firms limit workers' mobility is with noncompete … agreements (NCAs). We examine how the legal enforceability of NCAs affects innovation, as measured by patenting, using data on …