Market Value and Patent Citations: A First Look

64 Pages Posted: 24 Jul 2000 Last revised: 28 Aug 2022

See all articles by Bronwyn H. Hall

Bronwyn H. Hall

University of California at Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS); Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

Adam B. Jaffe

Brandeis University; Motu Economic and Public Policy Research; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Manuel Trajtenberg

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: June 2000

Abstract

As patent data become more available in machine-readable form, an increasing number of researchers have begun to use measures based on patents and their citations as indicators of technological output and information flow. This paper explores the economic meaning of these citation-based patent measures using the financial market valuation of the firms that own the patents. Using a new and comprehensive dataset containing over 4800 U. S. Manufacturing firms and their patenting activity for the past 30 years, we explore the contributions of R&D spending, patents, and citation-weighted patents to measures of Tobin's Q for the firms. We find that citation-weighted patent stocks are more highly correlated with market value than patent stocks themselves and that this fact is due mainly to the high valuation placed on firms that hold very highly cited patents.

Suggested Citation

Hall, Bronwyn H. and Jaffe, Adam B. and Trajtenberg, Manuel, Market Value and Patent Citations: A First Look (June 2000). NBER Working Paper No. w7741, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=233745

Bronwyn H. Hall (Contact Author)

University of California at Berkeley ( email )

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Adam B. Jaffe

Brandeis University ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.brandeis.edu/global/people/faculty/jaff

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Manuel Trajtenberg

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics ( email )

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Israel
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+972 3640 9908 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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United States

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