정치제도와 기술혁신

초록

In this paper, we examine the effects of the political system on technological innovation in 115 countries from which patent applications have been submitted to the USPTO. This study analyzes how the political system impacts innovation by taking both direct and indirect paths of influence into account. Indirect paths refer to the ways in which political institutions indirectly influence technological innovation through other economic variables. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. First, we cannot confirm that democracy influences innovation directly. However, democracy does have a positive impact on innovation through income redistribution, Specifically, democracy has a positive impact on human capital accumulation through income redistribution, which ultimately promotes technological innovation. Second, when estimating using the proportional representation and majoritarian electoral systems, neither alternative was demonstrated to affect technological innovation directly. However, these electoral systems were found to encourage technological innovation indirectly through their effect on income redistribution. As in the analysis using democracy, the rise in income resulting from the electoral system positively affects the accumulation of human capital, ultimately promoting innovation.

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