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Lost Einsteins: How exposure to innovation influences who becomes an inventor


Article by Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova and John Van Reenen: Relatively little is known about the factors that induce people to become inventors. Using data on the lives of over one million inventors in the US, this column sheds light on what policies can be most effective in increasing innovation. In particular, it shows that increasing exposure to innovation among women, minorities, and children from low-income families may have greater potential to spark innovation and growth than traditional approaches such as reducing tax rates.


Alexander Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova and John Van Reenen

24 December 2017


Vox EU


https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/lost-einsteins-how-exposure-innovation-influences-who-becomes-inventor

This work is published under POID and the CEP's Growth programme.

This publication comes under the following CEP theme: R&D and innovation