have influenced the direction of innovation over the last four decades. Our findings suggest that the demography of …

We analyze the effects of the 1984 breakup of the Bell System on the rate, diversity, and direction of US innovation … diversity of telecommunications innovation increased. Total patenting by US inventors related to telecommunications increased by …

the social benefits of their innovations if innovation is to be suitably rewarded and encouraged. However, this paper … deadweight loss associated with the patent system and discourage innovation by others. Economic efficiency is promoted if rewards … the patent system designed to spur innovation by better aligning the rewards and contributions of patent holders …

an induced innovation externality. This alternative mechanism, by contrast, causes people to devote an inefficiently high … level of self-protection. As an empirical example of this externality, we analyze the innovation induced by the obesity … epidemic. Obesity is associated with an increase in the incidence of many diseases. The induced innovation hypothesis is that …