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 …

,786 public corporations, and measures of both patent quality and patent value, we find that, while average invention value rises …

locations. In 12 of these areas, innovation is particularly concentrated in a single, large firm; we refer to such locations as …