Decades of patenting produced no new specializations, only deepening

Evidence

Stuttgart is also a leading region in Germany with respect to patent activities. This holds both true for the number of patents per 100,000 inhabitants as well as employees (see Koschatzky and Jappe, 2004). Patent statistics demonstrate clearly that the Stuttgart economy develops along stable trajectories. Patents are concentrated in car manufacturing and mechanical engineering, with a somewhat lower specialization in electrical engineering. The data furthermore show that over the last decade new patent specializations have not been established. … Between 1995 and 2000, more than 50 per cent of the increase in the region’s valued-added output can be contributed to the car industry, and its share of regional industrial output has increased from 16 to 21 per cent. — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 925

Categorization

• QUESTION: Would a longer horizon show any subsequent diversification, or is this deepening self-perpetuating? Worth checking whether the trend reversed after 2007.
• SHARE: The specific ‘no new patent specialization in a decade’ datum is niche enough to send to someone who works on regional innovation statistics.