No. 1521 - The public origins of American innovation

Temi di discussione (Working papers)
by Andrea Gazzani, Joseba Martinez, Filippo Natoli and Paolo Surico
March 2026
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The paper uses recently digitized data to construct monthly indicators of US technological innovation from 1950 to 2015, categorizing patents according to the public or private nature of their funding source and ownership type. These indicators are then used to analyze the impact of innovation on productivity and economic growth in the United States, conditional on the funding source and ownership structure.

Federally funded and privately owned patents, although accounting for only 2 per cent of the total, explain about one-fifth of medium-term fluctuations in productivity and GDP, with significant effects on private-sector investment and research and development spending. The most impactful innovations are primarily produced by universities and private research centers working in collaboration with the public sector, and are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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  1. 17 March 2026
    No. 1521 - The public origins of American innovation
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