Innovation social benefit from technological

Our findings provide the first glimpse of the differences between private and social rates of return from investments in new technology. In general, social rates of return seem to exceed private rates of return, although this is not always the case. Specifically, the median social rate of return is about double the median private rate of return in our seunple, emd the social rate of return from the major firm s investment in new process technology in 1960-1972 seemed to be at least double the private rate of return. When we look at specific innovations, the difference between the social and private rate of return seems to be related to the economic Importemce of the innovation (measured by absolute annual benefits) and to the costs of imitating the innovation. These results are quite consistent with hypotheses put forth by economic theorists ( ). 

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