Innovation increases inequality, economic opportunity

If you want more income inequality, you should try to attract more innovators to your state. If you want less income inequality, you should try to attract more lobbyists.

Innovation is a major cause of growing income inequality, according to a new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study shows that states with a higher number of patents per person have higher levels of inequality. Innovation, the study says, is responsible for 17 percent of the increase in the richest 1 percent’s income share between 1975-2010. The amount of innovation in a given state does not appear to affect other income levels.