Innovation and Legislation: The Changing Relationship – Evidence from 1984 to 2015

Abstract

We examine the relationship between innovation as measured by annual utility patents granted and two datasets for legislation: (1) the U.S. Code and (2) the Code of Federal Regulations from 1984 to 2015. We show that the historical relationship between innovation and legislation has changed, especially for computer and communication patents. The evidence suggests that the existing regulatory infrastructure has a diminishing capacity to react to innovation. The evolving empirical relationship between innovation and legislation has implications for the legal system and rulemaking processes in the existing regulatory framework.

Keywords: Innovation, Measures of Innovation, Legislation, Measures of Legislation, CFR, U.S. Code, Patents, Data, Matching