Making a Market: Infrastructure, Integration, and the Rise of Innovation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Andersson, David; Berger, Thor; Prawitz, Erik
• 署名单位: Uppsala University; Linkoping University; Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN); Lund University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01067
• 发表日期: 2023-03
• 页码: 258-274
• 关键词: economic-growth; TECHNOLOGY; patents; railroads; TRADE; spillovers; inventors; IMPACT; FIRMS; size

摘要

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.