The Link Between Standardization and Economic Growth: A Bibliometric Analysis

We analyze the link between standardization and economic growth by systematically reviewing leading economics journals, leading economic growth researchers’ articles, and economic growth-related books. We make the following observations: 1) No article has analyzed the link between standardization and economic growth in top5 economics journals between 1996 and 2018. 2) A representative sample of the leading researchers of economic growth has allocated little attention to the link between standardization and economic growth. 3) Typically, economic growth textbooks do not contain “standards” or “standardization” in their word indexes. These findings suggest that the economic growth theory has …

Taloustieteellisen tutkimustiedon löydettävyys ja avoimuus Suomessa

Digitalisaatio on alentanut tutkimustiedon etsimiskustannuksia merkittävästi ja mahdollistanut tutkimustiedon tehokkaamman leviämisen. Tästä huolimatta tutkijoiden omat julkaisukäytäntöihin liittyvät valinnat vaikuttavat edelleen tutkimusjulkaisujen löydettävyyteen Internetissä. Tämä katsaus valottaa Suomen yliopistojen taloustieteen professorien tutkimusten julkaisukäytäntöjä ja avoimuutta verkossa. Katsauksen kolme keskeistä havaintoa ovat: 1) Suurin osa professoreista on rekisteröitynyt usealle eri tutkimusjulkaisuja yhteen kokoavalle alustalle: 72 %:lla on ResearchGate-profiili, 67 %:lla IDEAS-profiili ja 58 %:lla Google Scholar Citationsprofiili, 2) professoreiden eniten viitatuista ar…

Need for speed? Exploring the relative importance of patents and utility models among German firms

Despite the wide use of two-tiered patent systems (patents and utility models (UMs)), there is little empirical evidence about how often UMs are actually used, what kind of firms use them to protect their intellectual property, and how firms rank them relative to patents. We offer such an analysis using data from Germany. We find that larger firms are more likely to use both protection methods. Moreover, a short life cycle of products and services is associated with an increased likelihood to use UMs. The features and functioning of the German UM system are of broader interest because it has been a benchmark for several second tier patent protection systems around the world. peerReviewed

Näkökulmia standardisoinnin taloustieteeseen

Tämä artikkeli tarjoaa tiiviin katsauksen standardisointiin ja muutamia valikoituja näkökulmia standardisoinnin taloustieteelliseen tutkimukseen. Teemme muutaman huomion. Ensinnäkin käsitteiden epäjohdonmukainen käyttö aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa voi aiheuttaa sekaannuksia aihepiirin uusille tutkijoille. Toiseksi standardisointiin liittyvää strategista käyttäytymistä on tutkittu paljon peliteoreettisilla malleilla ja tapaustutkimuksilla, mutta standardisoinnin empiirinen ”makrotutkimus”, ml. sen vaikutukset teknologiseen kehitykseen ja talouskasvuun, on jäänyt vähemmälle huomiolle. Kolmanneksi uudet standardeihin liittyvät tutkimusaineistot mahdollistavat standardisoinnin rakenteiden ja dyn…

IPR gender gaps: a first look at utility model, design right and trademark filings

This study extends the analysis of the gender gap in patenting into design rights, utility model (UMs) and trademarks (TMs), which are complementary methods for protecting intellectual property. The analysis is descriptive and uses register data from the Finnish patent and registration office covering the years 1982–2013. A persistent gender gap is found for all intellectual property rights. The gap has narrowed over time for national patent, design right and TM filings but not for UM filings. It is found that, in comparison to men, women are relatively less often single inventors or designers and more often members of inventor or designer teams. peerReviewed

Standardized general purpose technologies: A note

General purpose technologies (GPTs) have been important drivers of industrial revolutions and economic development, but their link to standards has not been analyzed systematically. We document that all of the most common examples of GPTs—steam, railway, electricity and information (and communication) technology—have been subject to standardization efforts over time. Standards development has acted as an institution that has more or less made an impact on the technological progress in these fields and their application sectors. While empirical studies of GPTs have utilized, among other things, patent data to identify GPTs, our observations indicate that the analysis of standards organizatio…

Intellectual property strategies and firm growth : evidence from Finnish small business data

The goal of this study is to shed light on the relationship between intellectual property (IP) strategies and firm growth. In brief, IP strategies are means of capturing returns on innovation investments. Employment effects and sales growth effects of innovations have been studied extensively in both theoretical and empirical economic literature but prior research has seldom included IP strategies into the analysis. There is little knowledge, whether there exists growth rate differences among firms that use different IP strategies and do patenting firms effectively demonstrate stronger growth than their non-patenting counterparts. Present study considers IP strategies as potential firm grow…

Do Overoptimistic Men Drive Creative Destruction? Evidence of Gendered Inventive Activity in Finland

This study extends the analysis of the "patenting gender gap" into design rights and utility model (UMs), which are alternative methods for protecting intellectual property (IP). The analysis is descriptive and uses registry data from the Finnish patent and registration office (PRH) covering the years 1982–2013. A persistent gender gap is found for all intellectual property rights (IPRs): women are inventors and designers only in a small share of filings. The gap has narrowed over time for national patent and design right filings but not for UM filings. It is found that, in comparison to men, women are relatively less often individual inventors or designers and more often members of invento…

Empirical analyses of European intellectual property rights institutions

This dissertation consists of introduction chapter and five empirical studies on European intellectual property rights institutions. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are micro-level studies and the perspective shifts to macro-level in Chapters 5 and 6. Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 6 analyze two-tiered patent systems and Chapter 4 focuses on design rights. Chapter 2 analyzes the choice between patent and utility model protection among German firms. The results indicate that larger firms are more likely to use both protection methods and that a short life cycle of products and services is associated with an increased likelihood to use utility models. Chapter 3 analyzes the role of utility models in patent filing …

Kuka kirjoittaa pilvi-imperiumien pelisäännöt?

Connecting the Dots: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Link Between Standardization and Economic Growth

We analyze the attention that is allocated to the link between standardization and economic growth by systematically reviewing leading economics journals, leading economic growth researchers’ articles and economic growth-related books. The following observations are made: No article has analyzed the link between standardization and economic growth in top5 economics journals between 1996 and 2018. A representative sample of the leading researchers of economic growth has allocated little attention to the link between standardization and economic growth. Typically, economic growth textbooks do not contain “standards” or “standardization” in their word indexes. To summarize, economic growth the…

The Contribution of Family Business Groups to the Local Innovation Environment

Family firms and family business groups and their role in the local business community are largely unexplored territory in the field of family business as well in the field of regional innovation systems. The focus of this chapter is in regional innovation system and particularly in how family firms and family business groups are embedded in this system. The main research question is what is the role of family business groups for the regional innovation system? The present study is also among the first to analyse the intellectual property rights (IPRs) filing activity by family business groups. Descriptive empirical analysis indicates that family business groups are among the top regional i…

Aineettomien oikeuksien järjestelmät Euroopassa

The demand for IPR services - to use or not to use a professional representative

We analysed the use of professional representative services and related outcomes in patent, utility model, design right and trademark filings. We found that: 1) there is a positive association between the use of a professional representative and the likelihood of grant or registration; 2) the demand for professional intellectual property rights (IPR) services is heterogeneous between IPR types: applicants are most likely to hire professional representatives (IPR agents and attorneys) for patents, followed by utility models, design rights and trademarks; 3) individual applicants are less likely to use professional representatives compared to firm applicants. peerReviewed

IPR-aineistojen mahdollisuuksia, replikointitarpeita ja teknisiä haasteita

Tässä artikkelissa tehdään katsaus aineettomien oikeuksien eli IPR- (intellectual property rights) aineistoihin erityisesti suomalaisesta ja eurooppalaisesta näkökulmasta. Keskityn patentti-, hyödyllisyysmalli-, tavaramerkki- ja mallioikeusaineistoihin eli teollisoikeuksiin jättäen tekijänoikeudet tarkastelun ulkopuolelle. Digitalisaation myötä rekisteriaineistojen laatu ja saatavuus ovat jatkuvasti lisääntyneet ja IPR-järjestelmien toiminnan tutkimus sekä hypoteesien empiirinen testaus ovat tulleet mahdolliseksi ennennäkemättömällä tavalla. Eräitä mielenkiintoisia aiheita, joiden tutkimuksen yhä laadukkaammat IPR-aineistot mahdollistavat ovat 1) kokonaisvaltaisempi IPR-analyysi, joka paten…

Explaining a Surge in IPR Filings: Uncertain Design Rights and Learning Their Boundaries in the Finnish Sauna Heater Market

We present a case study of a surge in design right filings in an industry transforming from technology-based to design-based competition. The motives for and outcomes of filing, and how these changed over time are discussed. We go on to explore the events, which offered the agents opportunities to update their beliefs about the scope of design right protection. We find that filing motives change from specific protection goals to freedom to operate over time. We also find that the actors faced several, but sometimes contradictory, learning opportunities. Finally, we argue that uncertain design rights may have fostered entrepreneurial optimism. Policy makers could level the playing field and …

Classifying Economics for the Common Good: Connecting Sustainable Development Goals to JEL Codes

How does economics research help in solving societal challenges? This brief note sheds additional light on this question by providing ways to connect Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. These simple linkages illustrate that the themes of SDGs have corresponding JEL classification codes. As the mappings presented here are necessarily imperfect and incomplete, there is plenty of room for improvements. In an ideal world, there would be a JEL classification system for SDGs, a separate JEL code for each of the 17 SDGs.

The role of utility models in patent filing strategies: evidence from European countries

We examine the role of utility models (UM) in patent filing strategies. With an extensive patent family data from European countries, we explore the structures and characteristics of patent families, which include UMs. A simple typology of patent families with UM members is introduced. We document that the geographical scope of most patent families with UM members is purely national, which is in line with the conventional view that the UM mechanism covers technologically and economically marginal inventions. However, the image of a UM as a signal of a minor invention is an oversimplification. Applicants exhibit a mixture of uses for the UM and there exists a subset of UM filings linked to i…

Coopetition, standardization and general purpose technologies : A framework and an application

Funding Information: We thank Paul Wiegmann, Geerten van de Kaa, Filippo Grillo, Tuomo Uotila, Elina Berghäll, Joakim Wikström and a number of anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Earlier versions of the paper have been presented at EURAS2022 conference at Adam Smith Business School of the University of Glasgow, 38th Summer Seminar of Finnish Economist at University of Jyväskylä and Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT. Heikkilä gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Foundation for Economic Education (Liikesivistysrahasto, Reino Rossi Memorial Fund), PHP Säätiö and the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics. We argue that coopetition and standardiz…

The Relationship between Patent and Second Tier Patent Protection: The Case of the Dutch Short-Term Patent System Abolition

While the effect of changes in patent protection strength on innovative activity has been studied extensively, the role of second tier patent protection in national innovation systems has been a neglected research topic. Empirical evidence on the interaction between patent and second tier patent protection, especially in advanced economies, remains very scarce. This paper studies how the abolition of Dutch short-term patent system affected the level of domestic patent filing activity in the short and medium run. Synthetic control method is implemented to investigate the effect. The results indicate that the abolition of the short-term patent institution did not affect the level of domestic …

Gender-specific Call of Duty: A Note on the Neglect of Conscription in Gender Equality Indices

We document that existing gender equality indices do not account for gender-specific mandatory peace-time conscription (compulsory military service). This suggests that gender-specific conscription is not considered to be an important gender issue. If an indicator measuring the gender equality of mandatory conscription was to be included in gender equality indices with appropriate weight, then the relative rankings of countries in terms of measured gender equality could be affected. In the context of the Nordic countries, this would mean that Finland and Denmark – the countries with mandatory conscription for men only – would have worse scores with respect to gender equality compared to Swe…

Gender-Specific Call of Duty: A Note on the Neglect of Conscription in Gender Equality Indexes

We document that existing gender equality indexes do not take into account gender-specific mandatory peace-time conscriptions. This suggests that gender-specific conscription is not considered to be an important gender issue. If an indicator measuring the gender equality of mandatory conscription (compulsory military service) would be included into gender equality indexes with appropriate weight then the relative positions of countries could be affected. In the context of Nordic countries, this would mean that Finland and Denmark, the countries with conscription for male only, would get worse scores with respect to gender equality compared to Sweden and Norway, countries with conscription o…

The Link Between Standardization and Economic Growth

We analyze the link between standardization and economic growth by systematically reviewing leading economics journals, leading economic growth researchers’ articles, and economic growth-related books. We make the following observations: 1) No article has analyzed the link between standardization and economic growth in top5 economics journals between 1996 and 2018. 2) A representative sample of the leading researchers of economic growth has allocated little attention to the link between standardization and economic growth. 3) Typically, economic growth textbooks do not contain “standards” or “standardization” in their word indexes. These findings suggest that the economic growth theory has …

Great expectations: Learning the boundaries of design rights

We present a case study of an increase in design right filings and concurrent design right litigations in an industry that previously had little experience of design right protection. The motives for and outcomes of filing, and how these changed over time are discussed. We go on to explore the events, which offered the decision makers opportunities to update their beliefs about the scope of design right protection. We find that filing motives changed from specific protection goals to freedom to operate over time. We also find that the actors faced several, but sometimes contradictory, learning opportunities. There are two types of learning relating to the usage of design rights: 1) learning…

Kotitalouksien varallisuusvaikutus : empiirisiä havaintoja Suomesta 1997-2010

Tutkielman tarkoitus on selvittää, kuinka varallisuuden arvonmuutokset voivat vaikuttaa kotitalouksien kulutukseen. Ilmiön tunteminen on erityisen tärkeää keskuspankin likviditeetin säätelyn kannalta, koska kotitalouksien varallisuusvaikutus rahapolitiikan välittymismekanismin osana toimii sitä vahvistavasti. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkasteltavana on suomalaisten kotitalouksien neljännesvuosittainen kokonaisaineisto aikavälillä q4/1997-q3/2010. Asuntojen lyhyen aikavälin bruttovarallisuusvaikutukseksi eli kotitalouksien kulutuksen joustoksi asuntovarallisuuden arvonmuutosten suhteen estimoitiin 0.14-0.15. Rahoitusvarallisuuden osalta varallisuusvaikutus oli mitättömän pieni. Tulosta selittää to…

Vastaus emeritusprofessori Kanniaiselle

Talouspolitiikan epävarmuus ja talouskehitys : empiirisiä havaintoja Suomesta

Talouteen ja talouspolitiikkaan liittyvä epävarmuus on hankalasti mitattava ilmiö. Digitoidut sanomalehtiaineistot, jatkuvasti kehittyvät ohjelmistot sekä kasvanut tietokoneiden laskentateho ovat viime aikoina mahdollistaneet uusien tekstihakuihin perustuvien mittareiden kehittämisen. Tässä artikkelissa esittelemme Bakerin, Bloomin ja Davisin (2016) kehittämän talouspolitiikan epävarmuusindeksin sekä analysoimme Suomen tärkeimpien vientimaiden talouspolitiikan epävarmuuden yhteyttä Suomen reaalisiin bruttokansantuotteen komponentteihin. Havaitsemme, että talouspolitiikan epävarmuuden sokit varsinkin Ruotsissa ja Yhdysvalloissa ovat negatiivisesti yhteydessä Suomen bruttokansantuotteen kompo…

Saunaan liittyvät suomalaiset aineettomat oikeudet / Sauna-related Intellectual Property Rights in Finland

Aineisto saunaan liittyvistä suomalaisista aineettomista oikeuksista (Dataset on sauna-related intellectual property rights in Finland) Aineiston tavoitteena on edistää tietämystä suomalaisissa saunoissa tapahtuneesta teknologisesta kehityksestä. Lisäksi se havainnollistaa aineettomien oikeuksien keskeistä roolia innovaatiotoiminnassa ja uusien keksintöjen kaupallistamisessa. Aineisto sisältää seuraavat tiedot Suomessa haetuista saunaan liittyvistä aineettomista oikeuksista: Patentit 1970 alkaen Hyödyllisyysmallit 1992 alkaen Mallisuojat 1971 alkaen Tavaramerkit 1964 alkaen Rahoittaja: Suomen Saunaseura ry