PhD conferral Mr Michael A. Verba, MSc.

“Innovation and Knowledge Dynamics; Essays on the Knowledge Economy”

Keywords:  knowledge dynamics, complex network, nonlinearity, patentometrics, innovation

This research studies the economics of knowledge production and the role of technological knowledge in the economy.  The dissertation provides approaches for modeling aggregate knowledge accumulation, learning between technology domains, and nonlinearities in knowledge creation.  A general framework for modeling knowledge creation is developed and evidence is presented for the existence of nonlinearities in innovation.

Part of the empirical analysis relies on a database covering 83 million patent records from more than 100 intellectual property authorities granted during the 1991-2012 period, as well as associated citations between patent filings. The data provide a comprehensive view of the evolution of technological progress up to the most recent years.  Modeling worldwide innovative activity as a complex dynamic network reveals trends within specific technologies, influence of different technologies on each other, and the general evolution of technological progress.