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Thor Berger . Photo

Thor Berger

Associate senior lecturer

Thor Berger . Photo

Collaboration and connectivity : Historical evidence from patent records

Author

  • Thor Berger
  • Erik Prawitz

Summary, in English

Why has collaboration become increasingly central to technological progress? We document the role of lowered travel costs by combining patent data with the rollout of the Swedish railroad network in the 19th and early-20th century. Inventors that gain access to the network are more likely to produce collaborative patents, which is partly driven by long-distance collaborations with other inventors residing along the emerging railroad network. These results suggest that the declining costs of interacting with others is fundamental to account for the long-term increase in inventive collaboration.

Department/s

  • Department of Economic History

Publishing year

2024-01

Language

English

Publication/Series

Journal of Urban Economics

Volume

139

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Information Studies

Keywords

  • Collaboration
  • Innovation
  • Railroads
  • Transport infrastructure

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0094-1190