Inventor Mobility After the Fall of the Berlin Wall

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how East German inventors' mobility and patenting activities were affected by the fall of the Berlin Wall, highlighting the influence of informal institutions and access to Western knowledge.

Contribution

It introduces a novel disambiguation method to trace inventor careers and examines the impact of political and knowledge access factors on mobility post-reunification.

Findings

Inventors with access to Western knowledge via espionage were more mobile.

Political support in communities hindered knowledge transfer and patenting.

Inventors overcoming obstacles were more likely to relocate to West Germany.

Abstract

This study examines the inter-organizational and spatial mobility patterns of East German inventors following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Existing research often overlooks the role of informal institutions in the mobility decisions of inventors, particularly regarding access to and transfer of knowledge. To address this gap, we investigate the unique circumstances surrounding the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic, which caused a significant shock to establishment closures and prompted many inventors to change their jobs and locations. Our sample comprises over 25,000 East German inventors, whose patenting careers in reunified Germany post-1990 are traced using a novel disambiguation and matching procedure. Our findings reveal that East German inventors in technological fields where access to Western knowledge was facilitated by industrial espionage were more likely to pursue inter-organizational mobility and continue their inventive activities in reunified Germany. Additionally, inventors from communities with strong political support for the ruling socialist party encountered difficulties in sourcing knowledge through weak ties, resulting in a lower likelihood of continuing to patent. However, those who overcame these obstacles and continued to produce inventions were more likely to relocate to West Germany, leaving their original social contexts behind.