Work

Ex-ante measure of patent quality reveals intrinsic fitness for citation-network growth

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: We have constructed a fitness parameter, characterizing the intrinsic attractiveness for patents to be cited, from attributes of the associated inventions known at the time a patent is granted. This exogenously obtained fitness is shown to determine the temporal growth of the citation network in conjunction with mechanisms of preferential attachment and obsolescence-induced aging that operate without reference to characteristics of individual patents. Our study opens a window to understanding quantitatively the interplay of the rich-gets-richer and fit-gets-richer paradigms that have been suggested to govern the growth dynamics of real-world complex networks.

Source: Physical review. E

DOI: 10.1103/physreve.99.060301

Authors: K. W. Higham, M. Governale, A. B. Jaffe, U. Zülicke

Institutions: Victoria University of Wellington, Queensland University of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, Brandeis University

Language: English

Topic: Complex Network Analysis Techniques

Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2913769907

FWCI: 1.551

Cites: 47

Cited by: 23

Related to: 10