As economists debate the prospects for the future pace of innovation, a study by innovation specialists Ashish Arora, Wes Cohen, and John Walsh—published by the prestigious National Bureau of Economic Research—indirectly helps buttress the optimists’ case.
The research team examined more than 6,000 U.S. manufacturers and service-sector firms between 2007 and 2009 regarding the extent to which innovators relied on external sources of invention.
