The Research University, Invention and Industry: Evidence from German History

Title: The Research University, Invention and Industry: Evidence from German History (with Ralf R. Meisenzahl)

Abstract: We examine the role of universities in knowledge production and industrial change using historical evidence. Political shocks drove a profound pro-science shift in German universities in the late 1700s. To study the consequences, we construct novel microdata. We find invention and manufacturing developed similarly in cities closer to and farther from universities in the 1700s and shifted towards universities and accelerated in the early 1800s. The shift in manufacturing was strongest in new and high knowledge industries and near large universities. After 1800, the adoption of mechanized technology and the number of firms winning international awards for innovation were higher near universities.