Financial Disruptions and the Organization of Innovation: Evidence from the Great Depression
利用美国百年专利数据和双重差分法，研究发现大萧条期间金融冲击导致独立发明减少，但大企业创新反而增加，加速了创新向大企业转移。
Abstract We examine innovation following the Great Depression using data on a century’s worth of U.S. patents and a difference-in-differences design that exploits regional variation in the crisis severity. Harder-hit areas experienced large and persistent declines in independent patenting, mostly reflecting the disruption in access to finance during the crisis. This decline was larger for young and inexperienced inventors and lower-quality patents. In contrast, innovation by large firms increased, especially among young and inexperienced inventors. Overall, the Great Depression contributed to the decline in technological entrepreneurship and accelerated the shift of innovation into larger firms.