@article{41874,
      recid = {41874},
      author = {Graff, Gregory D. and Pardey, Philip G.},
      title = {Inventions and patenting in Africa : Empirical trends from  1970 to 2010},
      pages = {25 pages},
      abstract = {Economic development is increasingly dependent upon on  utilizing new knowledge to innovate and create value, even  in traditional industries and in low‐income countries. This  analysis uses evidence on patent families to assess innova-  tion activity throughout sub‐Saharan Africa. We find patent  activity in sub‐Saharan Africa—both by African inventors  and by foreign inventors—is comparable to similar regions  around the world, when conditioned on economic size. Patent  filings in Africa have grown, particularly, since the  mid‐1990s, but at different rates within different African  jurisdictions. Types of technologies being patented in  Africa have remained stable over 30 years, with most in  pharma- ceuticals, chemistry, biotechnology, and  engineering. The majority of patent filings in Africa are  from Europe, the United States, and other high income  countries. Yet, in South Africa, between 15% and 20% of  patent filings are by residents of South Africa, and 3% are  from other developing and emerging economies. Only a small  share of inventions globally are made in sub‐Saharan  Africa, but for those inventions that do arise in Africa,  foreign filings are made widely outside of Africa.},
      url = {http://tind.wipo.int/record/41874},
}