A new study finds that countries are 25 to 60 percent more likely to gain advantage in patenting in certain technologies, given a twofold increase in the number of foreign inventors from nations that specialize in those same technologies.

Fact of the Week: A Twofold Increase in Immigrant Inventors Produces a 25 to 60 Percent Increase in Patenting Related to Technologies That the Immigrants’ Native Countries Specialize In

Fact of the Week: A Twofold Increase in Immigrant Inventors Produces a 25 to 60 Percent Increase in Patenting Related to Technologies That the Immigrants' Native Countries Specialize In

According to a new study, foreign inventors facilitated native-born inventors, rather than crowding them out. Controlling for city size, a 10 percent increase in the number of patents filed by immigrants increased the number of patents filed by natives in in their respective cities by 4 percent.

Fact of the Week: Between the 1850s and 1920s, Increases in Patents Filed by Immigrants Led to Increased Patent Filings by Native Residents

When skilled migrants come to a new country, they bring both expertise in their fields and connections to experts in their home countries, increasing the likelihood that they will produce new inventions in the fields in which their home countries excel. New research has provided the broadest estimation of this effect, examining immigration between 135 countries and patents in 651 technological categories from 1990 to 2010.

Fact of the Week: When Countries Double Immigration of Inventors From Places That Specialize in a Given Technology, They Are 25 to 50 Percent More Likely to Produce New Patents in That Technology After 10 Years

A recent paper published by the Center for Economic Studies finds that just under 35 percent of inventors (those granted patents) in the U.S. in 2016 were born abroad.

Fact of the Week: 35 Percent of US Inventors Are Foreign-Born, Per a Recent CES Paper

A recent study found that the number of H-1B visa holders is highly correlated with the number of issued patents in a state.

Fact of the Week: H-1B Visa Workers Contribute to the Number of Issued Patents in the United States

Proponents of increased high-skilled immigration routinely cite research that measures the size and growth of firms created by immigrant entrepreneurs. A new study goes farther, examining the performance of immigrant-owned high-tech firms across 16 metrics of innovation, from the production of publishable findings to patent applications.

Fact of the Week: Immigrant-Owned High-Tech Firms Outperform Native-Owned Firms Across 15 of 16 Measures of Innovation

A body of academic research has shown that high-skill immigration has a significant positive effect on the number of patents companies file. But according to a study published last month, past research may have underestimated the impact H-1B workers have on innovation more broadly.

Fact of the Week: Firms That Seek H-1B Visas Have Higher Rates of Product Reallocation

American childen born to parents in the top 1 percent of the income distribution are 10 times more likely to grow up to be an inventor than those born to parents with incomes below the median, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: An American Child Born to Parents in the Top 1 Percent of the Income Distribution is 10 Times More Likely to Grow up to be an Inventor Than a Child Born to Parents With Incomes Below the Median

Immigrants, whom make up about 14 to 15 percent of the U.S. population, have an outsized role in entrepreneurship, starting over 20 percent of new businesses in America.

Fact of the Week: Immigrant Inventors Produce 23 Percent of US Patents

Related

Fact of the Week: A Twofold Increase in Immigrant Inventors Produces a 25 to 60 Percent Increase in Patenting Related to Technologies That the Immigrants’ Native Countries Specialize In

Fact of the Week: Between the 1850s and 1920s, Increases in Patents Filed by Immigrants Led to Increased Patent Filings by Native Residents

Fact of the Week: When Countries Double Immigration of Inventors From Places That Specialize in a Given Technology, They Are 25 to 50 Percent More Likely to Produce New Patents in That Technology After 10 Years