Authors:

  • Shane Greenstein

Excerpt

January/February 2025, Paper: "Epiphany plays an outsized role in the reductionist two-step model of invention. Step one is when an idea pops into an inventor’s head, and step two is when the invention spreads in an economy over time. This model is misleading in numerous ways that would take a book to enumerate. This issue’s Micro Economics department article focuses on step two, aiming to one piece. How and why do businesses embed the invention in products and services while the invention spreads? Cataloging the factors that help businesses embed inventions can yield valuable lessons. The article focuses on knowledge spillovers, eliminating bottlenecks, and inventing ways to invent."