Work

Inventors among the “Impoverished Sophisticate”

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the identity and origins of Swedish inventors prior to WWI, drawing on the universe of patent records linked to census data. We document that the rise of innovation during Sweden’s industrialization can largely be attributed to a small industrial elite belonging to the upper-tail of the economic, educational, and social status distribution. Analyzing children’s opportunities to become inventors, we show that inventors were disproportionately drawn from privileged family backgrounds. However, innovation was a path to upward mobility for the middle- and working-class children that managed to overcome the barriers to entry.

Source: The Journal of Economic History

DOI: 10.1017/s0022050724000433

Authors: Thor Berger, Erik Prawitz