The Regionalization of Knowledge Flows in East Asia: Evidence from Patent Citations Data

SummaryThis paper investigates the extent to which East Asia has become a source of international knowledge diffusion and whether such diffusion is localized to the region. Using citations made by US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted patents to other USPTO patents as an indicator of knowledge flow, I investigate the patterns of knowledge diffusion in East Asia by estimating a model of international knowledge diffusion. While OECD countries remain the dominant sources of knowledge, I find evidence of increasing regionalization of knowledge flow in East Asia.