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The Diffusion of New Technologies

Aakash Kalyani et al.

The Quarterly Journal of Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf002article
FT50AJG 4*ABDC A*
Weight
0.67

Abstract

We identify phrases associated with novel technologies using textual analysis of patents, job postings, and earnings calls, enabling us to identify four stylized facts on the diffusion of jobs relating to new technologies. First, the development of economically impactful new technologies is geographically highly concentrated, more so even than overall patenting: 56% of the most economically impactful technologies come from just two U.S. locations, Silicon Valley and the Northeast Corridor. Second, as the technologies mature and the number of related jobs grows, hiring spreads geographically. This process is very slow, taking around 50 years to disperse fully. Third, while initial hiring in new technologies is highly skill-biased, over time the mean skill level in new positions declines, drawing in an increasing number of lower-skilled workers. Finally, the geographic spread of hiring is slowest for higher-skilled positions, with the locations where new technologies were pioneered remaining the focus for the technology's high-skill jobs for decades.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf002

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@article{aakash2025,
  title        = {{The Diffusion of New Technologies}},
  author       = {Aakash Kalyani et al.},
  journal      = {The Quarterly Journal of Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf002},
}

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Evidence weight

0.67

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.73 × 0.4 = 0.29
M · momentum1.00 × 0.15 = 0.15
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.