Idea and Economic Spillovers from Publicly-funded Biomedical Research

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The goal of this project is to advance understanding of the returns to biomedical research. The project examines how new scientific knowledge flows across locations and institutional settings, and how these knowledge flows affect scientific innovation, health, and economic growth. This project examines both idea spillovers (where the movement of scientists to new geographic locations affects productivity of their colleagues) and economic spillovers (where publicly-funded basic research is eventually translated into new drugs, devices, or treatments by commercial firms). The research uses a unique dataset assembled by the investigative team over the past several years, which matches publication output, NIH funding, and patents for the complete roster of medical school faculty and NIH grantees between 1975 and 2006. It also utilizes data from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on all biomedical patents issued since 1976.Intellectual Merit: A major contribution of the research is that it assesses the degree to which idea spillovers are localized in space. As such, it promotes understanding of the centripetal forces that sustain R&D-based geographic clusters (such as South San Francisco, Kendall Square, or La Jolla) over time. In particular, it provides direct estimates of the extent to which firms' R&D productivity builds on academic research. The exploration of the mechanisms through which knowledge spillovers operate provides insights on how to allocate talent across organizations. The project advances understanding of how the technologies and policies that influence the flow of information between agents affect the rate and direction of technological innovation.Broader Impact: Beyond advancing understanding in the economics of science, and informing contemporary policy debates, this project has several additional outputs. First, the fuzzy-matching algorithm that matches patent citations to biomedical articles is useful to a wide range of scholars interested in science and technology policy. Second, research in the area is facilitated by the modification of several open-source software programs developed under prior NSF support. Finally, the findings are disseminated through various media to a wide range of audiences, to facilitate an open dialogue with academics, policymakers, industry representatives, and other stakeholders