According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), there was a dramatic drop off in patent filings by South Africans in the 1990s. On a per capita basis, South African patent filings are down to only a quarter of its level in the early 1980s. The number of patents in force actually fell between 2011 and 2014.
Estimates of South Africa’s productivity growth, on the other hand, suggests that the period between democracy and the global financial crisis was characterised by strong productivity growth, but that we have experienced poor productivity growth in the years since (see here and here).
We have a long post discussing what might explain the lack of correlation between patents and productivity coming soon.
Footnote
Note that the WIPO data shows a much more dramatic decline in patent grants by technology sector than in the aggregate figures, suggesting that the more disaggregated figures may not be fully representative. Unfortunately, the Companies & Intellectual Property Commission of SA (CIPC) does not publish statistics on patent grants, so we cannot readily corroborate the WIPO figures. The CIPC also did not respond to our data query. We will, however, compare WIPO data to alternative sources, including data which we will compile from individual CIPC records, in upcoming posts.
