Patents, International Technology Transfer and Industrial Dependence in 19th Century Spain.

This paper will attempt to reflect on the processes of international technology transfer at the beginning of European industrialization. During this period, when the achievement and the spread of technical innovations were vital to the acceleration of economic growth, the more underdeveloped countries experienced an increase in technological dependency on the leading countries. In some of them, the transfer of foreign technical information was more important than that generated by the nation itself, which —in spite of the cost increase of implanting foreign innovations, given the scant integration of international equipment markets— supposed a reduction of the degree of uncertainty associated with all processes of technological changes. The principal objective of the following pages is to analyse in detail the Spanish case, a country in obvious economic decline at the end of the 18th century and well below the average for Europe for most of the 19th century. This well-known delay translated into an external technological dependence in several economic sectors, which left its mark on the industrial protection system. Technological information which contains patent applications will be taken as a valid indicator —although only partial— of the direction and structure of the innovation processes in the Spanish economy. Upon careful study of the origin of patented inventions, it can be ascertained, among other things, the degree of dependence upon external technology; which countries played an essential role in the transfer of technology to Spain; and which economic sectors depended more on foreign technology.Technology Transfer; Patents; Spanish Economic History; Technological Change

The Spanish Patent System. Origins, Characteristics and Evolution

The object of this study is to use documentation on patents as a partial technology indicator, and, above all, as an investment indicator in new technologies in order to analyze the formation, evolution and characterization of the Spanish technological system during the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. From our point of view, ceteris paribus, the decision to patent is based on the intuitive expectation of profits with the new technology –which is influenced both by economic growth itself and by marketing possibilities, as well as by institutional questions, such as the real possibility of enforcing the patent monopoly– and the cost of obtaining the monopoly -in monetary and institutional terms (the existence of required exams or the necessity of implementation, etc.). In general, as occurs in other types of capital investments, success is determined by multiple circumstances, which does not invalidate the possibility of studying the intensity and direction of investment activity. To accomplish that, we will attempt to a) characterize and analyze the Spanish institutional environment related to industrial property to measure the degree to which it supported innovative activity; b) explain the evolution of registries throughout the 19th century and discover the degree of foreign presence in the system; c) analyze the patents solicited by residents in Spanish territory to see whether their geographic distribution over time is related to the formation and integration of the national market; d) study the presence of firms in the system and what socio-professional activities the applicants were engaged in, which could help determine the degree of complexity of technology in Spain; e) describe how the investment processes in technologies were distributed within the economic structure of the country to discover in which sectors innovative activity was concentrated and if it coincided with what we know about the Spanish industrialization process; and finally, f) study the obligatory exploitation of patents and the duration of monopolies, to attempt to uncover data on the real effectiveness of the system in inducing innovation and the forces which brought this about.Patents; Intellectual Property Rights; Spanish Innovation System; Technological Change; Spanish Economic History

Why Did Corporations Patent in Spain? Some Historical Inquiries

In this paper we will explore how international corporations used the Spanish patent system in the late nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century in order to discover what the actual effects of its apparent weakness were. The origins and evolution of corporate patenting in Spain, the effects of compulsory working clauses, the management of assignments, the various strategies followed by the firms, and the effects of patents on technology transfer to the Spanish economy will be clarified. The conclusions yields understanding on real patent management in the long-term by analyzing the strategies of Brown Boveri and Babcock Wilcox corporations in Spain.Patents of introduction; National innovation system; Spain; Technology transfer.

Industrial Property Institutions, Patenting, and Technology Investment in Spain and Mexico, c. 1820-1914.

This paper explores the nature and implications of nineteenth century patent law in two late-industrializing countries: Spain and Mexico. Both inherited earlier ancien regime monopoly practices, both adopted aspects of modern, codified patent systems in the early nineteenth century, and both sought primarily to encourage innovation and especially the introduction of foreign techniques. Mexico, however, abandoned this orientation in 1890 in favor of an emphasis on supporting inventive activity while Spain retained this orientation until recently. After presenting an overview of the conceptual and historical issues regarding comparative patent systems in section one; section two compares the nature of the Spanish and Mexican systems in the nineteenth century; while sections three and four examine the implications of patent law: its impact on trends in patenting behavior and —more tentatively— its probable consequences for investment in technological change.Spain and Mexico Economic History; Patents; Technological Change; Technology Transfer.

El peluquero de la Reina

En este trabajo se intenta realizar una primera reflexión sobre el papel del capital humano exterior en el flujo de nuevos conocimientos y tecnologías hacia la España Moderna, en especial durante el siglo XVIII. En él se pretende estudiar las distintas fases históricas del fenómeno; su intensidad y carácter; los mecanismos de captación del personal cualificado; los factores de repulsión y atracción que explican las migraciones; la influencia de la evolución del entorno institucional en el proceso; y el impacto de todo ello en los orígenes remotos del débil –casi inexistente- sistema español de innovación. Si pensamos, además, que existen cuestiones difícilmente imitables o transferibles –al menos en el corto plazo- y que las estructuras de valores sociales relacionadas con la invención, la innovación, el aprendizaje o la educación (tan importantes durante la fase de extensión de los procesos de industrialización) pueden estar muy influidas por las trayectorias históricas, este intento de acercamiento debería contribuir también a arrojar alguna luz sobre qué cuestiones determinan, en general, la formación de los sistemas de innovación de países atrasados y por qué en España, en particular, se retrasó tanto su organización, ésta fue tan dependiente del exterior y, al contrario de lo sucedido en otros países seguidores, nunca se desarrollaron nichos tecnológicos propios de especialización.Useful and Reliable Knowledge; Technical Education; Human Capital Migrations; Spanish Innovation System; Long-Run

Trayectorias tecnológicas de las máquinas térmicas e industrial del motor en España.

En este trabajo se pretende analizar los diversos paradigmas y trayectorias tecnológicas relacionados con las máquinas térmicas a lo largo del siglo XIX y primeras décadas del XX para reflexionar sobre la dinámica evolutiva y lógica interna del propio proceso de innovación en el sector, sobre la participación española en el mismo y sobre el impacto específico de los avances en la termodinámica aplicada en la estructura económica nacional y en el desarrollo y caracterización de una industria del motor especializada. En ese sentido, cuatro son los grandes paradigmas tecnológicos dentro del axioma termodinámico: las máquinas alternativas de vapor, los motores de combustión interna alternativos, las turbinas de vapor y las turbinas de gas. Cada una de estas trayectorias abrió oportunidades tecnológicas e industriales que, en un país atrasado y dependiente como España, fueron difíciles de aprovechar. En los tres primeros paradigmas descritos los procesos de innovación nacionales fueron muy escasos durante el periodo estudiado –cuando no inexistentes–, pero incluso la aparición y crecimiento de un sector industrial especializado en la fabricación de motores térmicos, aunque fuese a partir de la tecnología exterior, fue, o bien muy tardío (caso de las máquinas alternativas de vapor) o bien suficientemente lento y escaso (motores de combustión interna alternativos y turbinas de vapor) como para no poderlo considerar un sector clave en el cambio estructural, por más que durante el primer tercio del siglo XX se desarrollaran en la Península algunos centros importantes de producción de motores. Analizando los hitos principales en la historia tecnológica de las máquinas térmicas y estudiando en detalle todas las patentes relacionadas que se registraron en España entre 1826 y 1914 –junto con las más significativas depositadas en otros países– se pretende arrojar luz sobre la mecánica de los procesos de cambio técnico en el largo plazo, sobre las características del sistema español de innovación y sobre las causas de su escasa participación en el establecimiento y dirección de las trayectorias de los motores térmicos. Por último, también pretendemos acercarnos al origen de la industria nacional relacionada con este tipo de maquinaria antes de la Primera Guerra Mundial, para tratar de averiguar en qué medida pudieron existir capacidades y actitudes innovadoras y cuál fue su grado de dependencia tecnológica del exterior.Technological Trajectories; Steam Engines; Internal Combustion Engines; Steam Turbines; Gas Turbines; Engine Industries; Patents; Spanish Innovation System; Technological Change; Long-Run.

Paralelismo sintáctico-semántico para el tratamiento de elementos extrapuestos en textos no restringidos

En este artículo presentamos un método basado en la teoría del paralelismo para la identificación y resolución de elementos extrapuestos en textos no restringidos. Esta teoría de paralelismo está basada en (Palomar 96) y se amplía con el desarrollo de técnicas de análisis parcial –en las que se estudia las partes relevantes del texto- que facilitan la resolución de los fenómenos lingüísticos. Nos basaremos en los programas Datalog extendidos (Dahl 94) (Dahl 95) como herramienta para la definición e implementación de gramáticas. Éstas no están basadas en reglas gramaticales sino en la detección de información relevante, relajando el proceso y ampliando el conjunto potencial de textos analizables.Este artículo ha sido subvencionado por el proyecto CICYT nº TIC97-0671-C02-01/02

Colonial Innovation System, Sub-Imperial Institutions and the Creole Elite in Nineteenth-Century Cuba

This article examines the relationship between colonialism and technology transfer via the study of nineteenth century Cuban institutions dedicated to the stimulation of innovative activity, particularly the patent system. Preliminary findings suggest three noteworthy claims. First, during the nineteenth century Cuban Creole elites set up a ‘Colonial Innovation System’ made up of ‘sub-imperial’ institutions autonomously administered in a context where rival Atlantic empires functioned as a ‘shadow’ economic metropolis of Cuba. Second, despite having the same patent laws as metropolitan Spain, Cuban sugar elites obtained practical control and management of the patent sub-institution on the island. Third, this achievement led to an autonomous functioning of the patent system in Cuba that allowed sugar-mill owners to participate actively in the global networks of technological exchange and to generate higher levels of patent activity than in metropolitan Spain.patents, sugar industry, colonialism, sub-imperial institutions, technology transfer.

Recensiones [Revista de Historia Económica Año XX Primavera-Verano 2002 n. 2 pp. 389-426]

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaManera, C: Història del creixement económic a Mallorca (1700-2000) (Por Luis Germán Zubero).-- Carmona, J., Colomé, J., Pan-Montojo, J., y Simpson, J. (eds.): Viñas, bodegas y mercados. El cambio técnico en la vitivinicultura española, 1830-1936 (Por Carmelo Pellejero).-- González Portilla, M. (ed.): Los orígenes de una metrópoli industrial: la ría de Bilbao (Por Carlos Larrinaga).-- Craig, L. A., y Fisher, D.: The European Macroeconomy: Growth, Integration and Cycles, 1500-1913 (Por Joan R. Roses).-- Sargent, T., y Velde, F.: The Big Problem of Small Change (Por José I. García de Paso.-- Andersen, B.: Technological Change and the Evolution of Corporate Innovation: The Structure of Patenting, 1880-1990 (Por Patricio Sáiz).-- Rotberg, R. (ed.): Patterns of Social Capital. Stability and Change in Historical Perspective (Por Blanca Sánchez Alonso).-- James, H.: The Deutsche Bank and the Nazi Economic War against the Jews (Por Pedro Fernández Sánchez).-- Battilossi, S., y Cassis, Y. (eds.): European Banks and the American Challenge. Competition and Cooperation in International Banking under Bretton Woods (Por Mª Ángeles Pons).-- Zeitlin, J., y Herrigel, G. (eds.): Americanization and its Limits. Reworking US Technology and Management in Post-war Europe and Japan (Por Nuria Puig)Publicad

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised