Making a Market: Infrastructure, Integration, and the Rise of Innovation
利用瑞典铁路网历史扩张的外生变化，研究发现铁路连接导致当地专利激增，原因是发明者进入增加和生产率提高，且发明者开始开发面向外部经济的创意并沿网络出售，表明交通成本下降推动了创意市场的形成。
Abstract We exploit exogenous variation arising from the historical rollout of the Swedish railroad network across municipalities to identify the impacts of improved transport infrastructure on innovative activity. A network connection led to a local surge in patenting due to an increased entry and productivity of inventors. As the railroad network expanded, inventors in connected areas began to develop ideas with applications outside the local economy, which were subsequently sold to firms along the network. Our findings suggest that reductions in communication and transportation costs were an important driver of the historical emergence of a market for ideas.