This paper constructs a patent assignee-firm longitudinal bridge between U.S. patent assignees and firms using firm-level administrative data from the U.S. Census Bureau. We match granted patents applied between 1976 and 2016 to the U.S. firms recorded in the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) in the Census Bureau. Building on existing algorithms in the literature, we first use the assignee name, address (state and city), and year information to link the two datasets. We then introduce a novel search-aided algorithm that significantly improves the matching results by 7% and 2.9% at the patent and the assignee level, respectively. Overall, we are able to match 88.2% and 80.1% of all U.S. patents and assignees respectively. We contribute to the existing literature by 1) improving the match rates and quality with the web search-aided algorithm, and 2) providing the longest and longitudinally consistent crosswalk between patent assignees and LBD firms.

Others in Series

Working Paper

Introducing the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component with Administrative Records (MEPS-ICAR): Description, Data Construction Methodology, and Quality Assessment

August 2022

Author THOMAS A. HEGLAND, ALICE ZAWACKI, AND G. EDWARD MILLER

Working Paper Number CES-22-29

Describes linking employer survey data and health insurance benefits with administrative records to measure employee income, demographics, and turnover.

Working Paper

Measuring Race in US Economic Statistics: What Do We Know?

August 2022

Author SONYA RAVINDRANATH WADDELL, JOHN M. ABOWD, CAMILLE BUSETTE, AND MARK HUGO LOPEZ

Working Paper Number CES-22-30

A panel of experts from government and private research organizations talk about race in economic statistics at the 38th NABE Policy Conference.

Working Paper

Propagation and Amplification of Local Productivity Spillovers

August 2022

Author XAVIER GIROUD, SIMONE LENZU, QUINN MAINGI, AND HOLGER MUELLER

Working Paper Number CES-22-32

Reduced-form and model-based evidence that local productivity spillovers propagate throughout the economy via the plant-level networks of multi-region firms.

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Center for Economic Studies (CES) Working Paper Series

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Page Last Revised - August 16, 2022

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