Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/315303 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] The Journal of Technology Transfer [ISSN:] 1573-7047 [Volume:] 49 [Issue:] 5 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York, NY [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 1787-1821
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York, NY
Abstract: 
This paper provides empirical evidence on a special case of restricted technology transfer: the German Democratic Republic (GDR) characterized by a socialist innovation system with a supply-side-oriented technology-push model encompassing intellectual property rights protection partially distinct from the one employed in most market economies. We exploit the natural experiment setting of the formerly separated regions in Germany and compare the productivity effects of knowledge generation, accumulation, and diffusion in the GDR with those of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) between 1970 and 1989. By applying a Cobb–Douglas production function to original primary and harmonized productivity data and manually cleaned patent data, we show that knowledge generation, accumulation and diffusion contributed to sectoral productivity in the GDR similarly compared to the FRG, despite the institutional misalignments in the socialist innovation system. We explain these findings and provide implications for present organizations with regard to incentive schemes for patenting, the support of personal creativity and education, and alternative technology transfer mechanisms in case of institutional barriers to innovation.
Subjects: 
Incentives to patent
Technology transfer
Barriers to innovation
Productivity
GDR
JEL: 
O31
O34
O14
P23
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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