N°25-01: Sanctions and Knowledge Spillovers

Do international sanctions impact patenting? To answer this question, we study patent applications originating in Russia, currently one of the world's most heavily sanctioned countries. We find that Russian applications are subject to longer processing times in sanctioning countries and that filed Russian patents exhibit fewer forward citations. Interestingly, applicants with names similar to those in the Kremlin or in the top 20 of popular Russian first names, and applicants who have filed patents during the last three years receive faster processing and greater forward citations. Retaliatory "revenge" sanctions imposed by Russia have an opposite impact, but the impact is more robustly overturned in sanctioning countries.