Where you grow up matters. For inventors, it holds particular importance.
A new paper, “Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation,” looks at the characteristics of people who hold patents.
The study said that exposure to innovation during childhood has “a significant causal effect on a child’s propensity to become an inventor.” Children who grow up in metro areas with higher patent rates are significantly more likely to become inventors.
Among the top 10 cities for children who become inventors: Madison and Milwaukee.
The study is in contrast to entrepreneurship and business startup rankings in which the state, and Milwaukee, often lag. Those measures don’t place weight on patent filings, or the inventor’s hometown, on which this study was based. Read the full story here.
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