Same difference? Minority ethnic inventors, diversity and innovation in the UK
Minority ethnic inventors play important roles in US innovation, especially in high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley. Do 'ethnicity?innovation' channels exist elsewhere? Ethnicity could influence innovation via production complementarities from diverse inventor communities, co-ethnic network externalities or individual 'stars'. I explore these issues using new UK patents microdata and a novel name-classification system. UK minority ethnic inventors are spatially concentrated, as in the USA, but have different characteristics reflecting UK-specific geography and history. I find that the diversity of inventor communities helps raise individual patenting, with suggestive influence of East Asian-origin stars. Majority inventors may benefit from multiplier effects.
10 May 2026
Journal of Economic Geography 15(1) , pp.129-168, 2026
https://academic.oup.com/joeg/article/15/1/129/957861
This Journal article is published under the centre's Urban programme.