Data and Code for: The Effect of High-Tech Clusters on the Productivity of Top Inventors

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Enrico Moretti, UC Berkeley, NBER and CEPR

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  data 05/17/2021 06:04:PM
  data2 05/17/2021 06:04:PM
  tables 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables11 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables2 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables20 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables22 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables23 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables3 05/17/2021 05:54:PM
  tables30 05/17/2021 05:54:PM

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary
The high-tech sector is increasingly  concentrated in a small number of cities.  I use longitudinal data on 109,846  inventors  to quantify the productivity advantages of Silicon-Valley style clusters.  
I find significant productivity gains from geographical agglomeration. When an inventor moves to a city with a larger cluster of inventors in the same field, she experiences a significant increase in the number and quality of patents produced. A case study based on an exogenous  shock to Rochester’s high tech cluster confirms the  magnitude of  agglomeration benefits.  
The agglomeration of inventors generates sizable gains in the aggregate number of patents produced in the US.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms economic geography
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      J01 Labor Economics: General


Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2021-09-23]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.