Globalization of Innovation Production: A Patent-Based Industry Analysis

Using patent-based indicators, this paper aims at explaining to what extent the productionof innovation is globalized. Firstly, it provides evidence – over time, across countriesand across industrial sectors – on the patterns in international technological collaborationand in cross-border ownership of innovation. Secondly, a fractional logit model is estimatedfor a unique panel dataset covering patent information of 21 industries in 29 countries from1980 to 2005. The results show that countries tend to be more globalized in industrial sectorsin which they are less technologically specialized. It suggests that globalization of innovationis more driven by home-base augmenting determinants than home-base exploitingones. The empirical findings also indicate that the intensity of globalization of innovationis higher in multidisciplinary country-industry pairs and in those which compete internationallyin trade.