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Abstract:

This thesis dissertation three essays broadly covering the allocation inventors. The first chapter discusses inventor mobility between European countries. In particular, we provide the first evidence of a novel determinant of outmigration: economic policy uncertainty, demonstrating that inventor mobility under uncertainty is heavily influenced by inventor-specific characteristics. The latter chapters each contain an essay on intellectual choice. The second chapter develops a framework in which intellectual mobility frictions create costs that prevent inventors from being allocated to the fields where they would be most productive. This reconciles the paradox that intellectual mobility has decreased over time, despite repeated observations that such mobility is key to producing the most socially valuable inventions. The final chapter discusses the role of intellectual mobility in inventor-level outcomes. I present a trade-off where inventors choose between acquiring deep or broad knowledge, which they then use to contribute to inventions. I find that inventors with highly specialized knowledge are significantly less likely to contribute to highly cited inventions. Given the disproportionate role of such inventions in advancing inventors' careers and generating societal value, this chapter complements the second by providing further evidence of the negative implications of declining intellectual mobility.