Lockdowns and Innovation: Evidence from the 1918 Flu Pandemic
研究了1918年流感大流行期间美国城市采取的非药物干预措施（如社交距离）对本地专利发明的影响，发现长期封锁并未减少反而提升了后续专利产出。
Abstract Does social distancing harm innovation? We estimate the effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)—policies that restrict interactions in an attempt to slow the spread of disease—on local invention. We construct a panel of issued patents and NPIs adopted by 50 large U.S. cities during the 1918 flu pandemic. Difference-in-differences estimates show that cities adopting longer NPIs did not experience a decline in patenting during the pandemic relative to short-NPI cities, and they recorded higher patenting afterward. Rather than reduce local invention by restricting localized knowledge spillovers, NPIs adopted during the pandemic may have preserved other inventive factors.