Schumpeterian German Firms before an after World War I. The Innovative Few and Non-innovative Many

Degner, Harald

doi:10.17104/0342-2852_2009_1_50

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Streb et al (2006) explain in great detail why they decided to choose the cut-off point of ten years to distinguish patents with a low economic value from those with a high economic one. 6 For the patent data, see Streb et al (2006), Streb et al (2007), Labuske and Streb (2008), Degner (2009), Richter andStreb (2011), Lehmann-Hasemeyer andStreb (2016). For the Prussian county level data see Becker et al (2014).…”

Section: Valuable Patentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The average number of valuable patents in a county for the period 1877-90 is about 4, with 65 percent of the counties having zero valuable patents. The city-county of Berlin reached the outstanding number of 464 valuable patents in the period under consideration, which is due to the fact that very innovative firms such as Siemens and Agfa were located there (Degner, 2009). Berlin-based inventors might also have profited from their proximity to the Imperial Patent Office which facilitated communication with the members of this highly-centralized administration.…”

Section: Control Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effect of human capital on growth involves multiple channels. On the one hand, an increase in human capital directly affects economic growth by enhancing labor productivity in production. On the other hand, human capital is an important input into R&D and therefore increases labor productivity indirectly by accelerating technological change. In addition, different types of human capital such as basic and higher education or training-on-the-job might play different roles in both production and innovation activities. We merge individual data on valuable patents granted in Prussia in the late nineteenth-century with county-level data on literacy, craftsmanship, secondary schooling, and income tax revenues to explore the complex relationship between various types of human capital, innovation, and income. We find that the Second Industrial Revolution can be seen as a transition period when it comes to the role of human capital. As in the preceding First Industrial Revolution, "useful knowledge" embodied in master craftsmen was related to innovation, especially of independent inventors. As in the subsequent 20 th century, the quality of basic education was associated with both workers' productivity and firms' R&D processes. In a final step, we show that literacy had also a negative effect on fertility which increased with innovation. In general, our findings support the notion that the accumulation of basic human capital was crucial for the transition to modern economic growth.

show abstract

Section: Valuable Patentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Control Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The long-term relationship between firm size and innovativeness might be described as a recurring lying S curve, shaped by innovation and growth periods following each other (Degner 2009). However, the frequency and the amplitude are not always equal.…”

Section: Number Of Firms and Valuable Patentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do technological booms matter? New evidence on the relationship between firm size and innovativeness

Degner

2010

Cliometrica

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many papers have been written about the effect of firm size on innovativeness, revealing a positive, a negative or a mixed impact. To this day, the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis of the above-average innovativeness of large firms has neither been confirmed nor rejected, often because of insufficient data or a too-short observation period. Many studies concentrate only on a specific region or sector, or they analyze a very short time period. Windows of technological opportunities, providing technological booms for both firms and sectors, have not yet been investigated. An analysis of Germany’s chemical, metal and electrical-engineering sectors between 1877 and 1932 reveals that the sector-specific long-term relationship between firm size and innovativeness is negative, except during times of specific technological booms. In combination with firm-specific characteristics, this new aspect can contribute to a better understanding of the long-term relationship between firm size and innovativeness.Innovation, Firm Size, Technology, Patents

show abstract

“…See alsoBurhop and Lübbers (2010) andLabuske and Streb (2008). 9 For the patent data, seeStreb et al (2006),Streb et al (2007),Labuske and Streb (2008),Degner (2009),Richter and Streb (2011). For the Prussian county level information, seeBecker and Woessmann (2009),Becker et al (2010), Hornung (2011), Hornung (2012),Becker et al (2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Human Capital and Innovation in Prussian Economic Development

Cinnirella¹,

Streb²

2013

SSRN Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By merging individual data on valuable patents granted in Prussia in the late nineteenth century with county level information on literacy and income tax revenues we show that increases in the stock of human capital not only improved workers' productivity but also accelerated innovative activities which, in turn, evoked an additional rise in the productivity level. Instrumenting the stock of literate people with information on the number of blind and deaf-mute people we also establish the direct causal effect of human capital on income, net of the innovation channel.

show abstract

Schumpeterian German Firms before an after World War I. The Innovative Few and Non-innovative Many

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia

The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia

Do technological booms matter? New evidence on the relationship between firm size and innovativeness

The Role of Human Capital and Innovation in Prussian Economic Development

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About