Knowledge spillovers, peer effects, and telecommuting: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office

摘要

We find strong evidence of peer influence in granting behaviors among patent examiners. In the face of a one standard-deviation increase in the inherent grant rate of her peers, an examiner in her first two years at the Patent Office will experience a 0.15 standard-deviation increase in her own grant rate. Moreover, we document a number of markers suggesting that such influences arise, in part, through knowledge spillovers, as distinct from peer-pressure mechanisms. Finally, drawing on variations in peer proximity due to the onset of telecommuting & mdash;both with respect to peer and focal examiner telecommuting experiences & mdash;we document evidence that examiner peer influences and knowledge flows are stronger when examiners work at the Patent Office, as opposed to working from home.(c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.