Scientific knowledge is believed to be the wellspring of innovation. Historically, firms have also invested in research … to fuel innovation and growth. In this paper, we document a shift away from scientific research by large corporations … also find that the value attributable to scientific research has dropped, whereas the value attributable to technical …

Intelligently allocating research effort and funds requires deciding whether to build on recent advances or on more … established knowledge. When recent advances create superior opportunities for invention, their adoption as research inputs in the … invention process promotes technological progress. The gains from pursuing such innovative research paths may, however, be very …

relating to patenting, robust conclusions regarding the empirical consequences for technological innovation of changes in … patent policy are few. Possible reasons for these limited results are discussed, and possible avenues for future research are …