There has recently been a resurgence of interest in how institutions affect economic performance. A review of this literature reveals that the concept of an "institution" means different things to different scholars, both within economics and across the social sciences. We discuss what factors...

Growth during the 1980s and 1990s in patenting and licensing by American universities is frequently asserted to be a direct consequence of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. However, there has been little empirical analysis of the effects of this legislation. This paper uses previously unexploited data...