Path dependency, social capital and the geography of dirty inventions
研究了1990-2014年间持久性有机污染物专利的全球分布，发现区域知识基础越强则这类专利越多，但社会资本能削弱这种路径依赖效应。
Dirty inventions are technologies inherently designed with features that pose significant risks to both human health and the environment. In this study, we focus on a particularly pernicious type of dirty invention within the chemical technological space: persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These chemicals are internationally recognised as among the most toxic and persistent, with properties that render them resistant to natural degradation. For the first time, we construct a comprehensive dataset of POP patents – those patents that incorporate at least one POP in their formulation – filed between 1990 and 2014. We then georeferenced these patents to analyse their distribution at both global and regional scales. Our analysis delves into the regional factors influencing the prevalence of POP inventions. They reveal a pronounced path dependency effect: regions with a more developed knowledge base in technologies relevant to POPs tend to have a higher volume of POP-related patents. However, this effect is mitigated by the presence of strong social capital within these regions.