We analyze the effect of the rise of knowledge-based activities on spatial inequality within U.S. cities. We exploit the network of patent citations to instrument for local trends in innovation. Innovation intensity is responsible for 14% of the overall increase in urban segregation between 1990...

Using a newly assembled dataset of U.S. patents, we show that overall innovation activity is less concentrated in high-density urban areas than commonly believed, but inventions based on atypical combinations of knowledge are indeed more prevalent in high-density cities. To interpret this...

Does social distancing harm innovation? We estimate the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)--policies that restrict interactions in an attempt to slow the spread of disease--on local invention. We construct a panel of issued patents and NPIs adopted by 50 large US cities during the...

Does social distancing harm innovation? We estimate the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)—policies that restrict interactions in an attempt to slow the spread of disease—on local invention. We construct a panel of issued patents and NPIs adopted by 50 large US cities during...