Competition in high technology: analysis of patents of US, Japan, UK, France, West Germany, and Canada

Using US patents as a surrogate measure of technological positions, the competitive positions of the industrial nations (the US, United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Canada, and Japan) in high-technology areas during the period from 1975 to 1988 are examined. High-technology industry is defined as one which requires a high proportion of R&D expenditure and employs a high proportion of scientists and engineers. High-tech industries are further subdivided into four categories (equipment, consumer durable, nondurable, and intermediate products) in terms of their market and/or use. How different countries have specialized in different product market areas within the high tech sector is also examined. To better understand the impact of the patients, the citations per patent for the different countries and the citation performance ratio, which is the share of country´s most highly cited patents on a worldwide basis, are examined