Gabriele Pellegrino - Immigration and innovation: empirical evidence from the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Title: Immigration and innovation: empirical evidence from the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Abstract: In this paper we assess the extent to which the international migration of inventors affects the level of innovation of the receiving country. To this aim we make use of a new database, mapping migratory patterns of inventors, and we draw on the end of Soviet Union and the consequent post-1992 influx of ex-Soviet inventors in the US. Econometric analysis on a panel of US cities and technological fields shows that propensity of patenting by local inventors increases significantly after the arrival of ex-Soviet Union inventors. Interestingly, estimations reveal technological fields specific effects. The positive impact of migrant inventors appears to be particularly relevant in physics and chemistry.

Presenter: Dr Gabriele Pellegrino, EPFL Lausanne

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