Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and The Supply of Scientific and Inventor Human Capital

Abstract

This panel symposium assembles four papers and researchers at the intersection of research on innovation, entrepreneurship and scientific human capital. We first discuss the localization of knowledge and how physical presence and proximity of inventors influence knowledge flows within and across technology classes. Then, the value of scientific human capital, specifically inventors and scientists, is discussed in the aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship. We extend the discussion to where the supply of scientific human capital comes from. Each panelist introduces relevant findings that are based when possible on strong identification, including exploitation of inventor death events, a shift-share instrument based on historic census data for regional mobility of human capital, and field experiment on STEM students. Avenues for future research will be discussed.