We assess the role of ethnic ties in the diffusion of technical knowledge by means of a database of patent filed by US-resident inventors of foreign origin, which we identify through name analysis. We consider ten important countries of origin of highly skilled migration to the US, both Asian...

In this paper we review 20 years of quantitative research in the geography of innovation, to whose advancement patent data have contributed in a decisive way. We know now that the importance attributed by the earliest studies to knowledge externalities as an agglomeration force was excessive....

In terms of the number of its patent applications, in 2012 China has emerged as the country with the largest IP office in the world. The performance of the Chinese IP system is thus increasingly in the spotlight. While significant economic studies have been devoted to the rise of domestic...