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Using Behavioral Economics to Enhance the Patent Examination Process: A Policy Research Approach to Improve Efficiency and Quality.

Research Project

Project/Area Number 18K01620
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 07040:Economic policy-related
Research InstitutionKeio University

Principal Investigator

Nakajima Ryo  慶應義塾大学, 経済学部(三田), 教授 (70431658)

Project Period (FY) 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,420,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,020,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
KeywordsProcrastination / Patent Examination, / Present Bias / 先延ばし行動 / 特許審査 / 現在バイアス / 構造推定 / 心理的負荷 / 準双曲線割引 / ヒューリスティック
Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this paper, we study the unproductive procrastination behavior of patent examiners, investigate whether such behavior is caused by present-biased preferences, and estimate the magnitude of this behavior. We propose a quasi-hyperbolic discounting model in which a patent examiner is assigned a biweekly quota of patent application reviews and determines the effort required to meet the deadline.
Using U.S. patent prosecution data, we estimate the present-bias factor of each patent examiner and find that the proportion of present-biased individuals exceeds the majority. We also show that less present-biased patent examiners have higher job separation rates.
We suggest that a fragmented work quota can improve the quality and timeliness of patent examination.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究の社会的意義は、特許審査プロセスの効率性と品質向上に向けた具体的な施策を提案することで、イノベーション推進と経済発展に寄与する可能性がある点が挙げられる。具体的には、審査官のタスクを細分化することで、特許審査の品質を改善し、審査時間を短縮できることが示されている。本研究で明らかになった行動経済学の知見を現実の職場環境に応用することで、労働者の行動と生産性に影響を与える要因を理解する手助けとなり、これは労働政策、人事管理、組織行動に関する一般的な理解にも寄与することが期待される。今後は、本研究で提案された施策を特許庁が採用し、実際に効果があるかどうかを検証する必要がある。

Report

(6 results)
  • 2022 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (8 results)

All 2022 2021 2020 Other

All Journal Article (1 results) (of which Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (6 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 4 results) Remarks (1 results)

  • [Journal Article] Behavioural economics, elucidation of the patent examination process: Policy research for the improvement of patent examination efficiency and quality2020

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Journal Title

      Impact

      Volume: 2020 Issue: 9 Pages: 54-56

    • DOI

      10.21820/23987073.2020.9.54

    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
    • Open Access
  • [Presentation] 米国特許審査官の審査行動に関する実証分析2022

    • Author(s)
      中嶋亮
    • Organizer
      「人材配置の経済学」 研究会
    • Related Report
      2022 Annual Research Report
  • [Presentation] Examining Patent Examiners: Present Bias, Procrastination and Task Performance2022

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Organizer
      American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting, Poster Session
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Examining Patent Examiners: Present Bias, Procrastination and Task Performance2021

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Organizer
      International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (IAREP) and the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE)
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Examining Patent Examiners: Present Bias, Procrastination and Task Performance2021

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Organizer
      International Association for Applied Econometrics (IAAE)
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Examining Patent Examiners: Present Bias, Procrastination and Task Performance2021

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Organizer
      The 9th AIEA-NBER Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Examining Patent Examiners: Present Bias, Procrastination and Task Performance2020

    • Author(s)
      Ryo Nakajima
    • Organizer
      行動経済学会
    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report
  • [Remarks] ディスカッションペーパー

    • URL

      https://ies.keio.ac.jp/publications/13244/

    • Related Report
      2020 Research-status Report

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Published: 2018-04-23   Modified: 2024-01-30  

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