COVID-19 Shifted Patent Applications Toward Technologies that Support Working from Home

10 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2020 Last revised: 11 Jan 2021

See all articles by Nicholas Bloom

Nicholas Bloom

Stanford University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Steven J. Davis

University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Hoover Institution

Yulia Zhestkova

University of Chicago

Date Written: January 8, 2021

Abstract

We examine the text content of U.S. patent applications, identifying those that advance technologies in support of video conferencing, telecommuting, remote interactivity, and working from home (collectively, WFH). The share of new patent applications that advance WFH technologies more than doubles from January to September of 2020, greatly surpassing its previous peak, and following an upward trajectory since the onset of the pandemic. This evidence suggests that (re-)directed technical change in reaction to COVID-19 will raise the quality and efficiency of remote work, thereby reinforcing a shift to working from home even after the pandemic ends.

Keywords: directed technical change, patents, COVID-19, coronavirus, working from home, remote interactivity, text analysis

JEL Classification: O3, J21

Suggested Citation

Bloom, Nicholas and Davis, Steven J. and Zhestkova, Yulia, COVID-19 Shifted Patent Applications Toward Technologies that Support Working from Home (January 8, 2021). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2020-133, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3695191 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3695191

Nicholas Bloom

Stanford University - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Steven J. Davis (Contact Author)

University of Chicago ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Hoover Institution

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Yulia Zhestkova

University of Chicago

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