Patents and Economic Activity: The Need to Develop Prediction Methods for Patent Applications

Since the decade of the 1980’s the literature on economic development began paying attention to the cases of countries which were industrialized after the first industrial revolution. One of the most relevant aspects analyzed has been the role of technology as a factor which promotes or delays the process of catching up with technology leaders. As result of this interest, new and more adequate indicators were identified to provide a coherent explanation for technological activities and their relationship with economic efficiency. Although the earliest studies focused on analyzing the activities of research and development (R&D), recently the focus of analysis has shifted to another type of variables, more oriented towards the processes of innovation and the gathering of knowledge and capabilities, in which patents provide relevant information.