Restructuring Research: Communication Costs and the Democratization of University Innovation
American Economic Review
vol. 98,
no. 4, September 2008
(pp. 1578-90)
Abstract
We report evidence that Bitnet adoption facilitated increased research collaboration between US universities. However, not all institutions benefited equally. Using panel data from seven top engineering journals, Bitnet connection records, and institution ranking data, we find that middle-tier universities were the primary beneficiaries; they benefited largely by increasing their collaboration with top-tier schools. Furthermore, we find that the magnitude of this effect is greatest for co-located pairs. Thus, the advent of Bitnet – and likely of subsequent networks – seems to have increased the role of middle-tier universities as producers of new knowledge in the national innovation system. (JEL D85, I23, O31, O33)Citation
Agrawal, Ajay, and Avi Goldfarb. 2008. "Restructuring Research: Communication Costs and the Democratization of University Innovation." American Economic Review, 98 (4): 1578-90. DOI: 10.1257/aer.98.4.1578Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D85 Network Formation and Analysis: Theory
- I23 Higher Education Research Institutions
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes