International mobility of inventors and innovation: Empirical evidence from the collapse of the Soviet Union

Does the international migration of inventors significantly influence innovation in the host country?

Understanding the impact of skilled immigration on innovation is crucial as it informs policies aimed at attracting high-skilled workers, which can enhance economic growth. The mixed responses to skilled immigration necessitate rigorous empirical evidence to determine the net effects on native workforce and innovation capacities. Given recent historical events, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, we can observe specific instances of knowledge diffusion through inventor migration that reveal the broader implications for economic policies and labor markets in receiving countries.

We conducted an econometric analysis using a novel database of ex-Soviet inventors who migrated to the United States post-1992. Our sample consists of 43,795 observations, including data on patents granted to U.S. inventors across different cities and technological fields from 1983 to 2000, along with migration data from the WIPO IPSTAT database. We utilized a regression model with fixed effects to assess the causal impact of the influx of immigrant inventors on U.S. patenting activity.

Our estimates suggest that each additional patent granted to an ex-Soviet inventor results in approximately 38 additional patents awarded to U.S. inventors annually. Our analysis indicates a statistically significant positive effect, confirming that foreign-born inventors enhance local innovation. Furthermore, our robustness checks demonstrate consistency in results, ensuring the reliability of the findings across various model specifications.

• Panel data include 43,795 observations on patent grants in the U.S. (1983–2000) with inventor nationality and U.S. residency from the WIPO IPSTAT and USPTO databases.
• These data points include counts of patents by U.S. inventors with at least one inventor from the ex-Soviet Union, along with metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and technological field classifications.

• Immigrant inventor location choice is influenced by historical immigrant communities without affecting local innovation levels.
• The influx of inventors from the ex-Soviet Union is a significant supply shock to the U.S. innovation landscape.
• Patent activity is influenced by the number of inventors from the ex-Soviet Union, controlling for other factors using fixed effects.