Is there a public innovation gap? Evidence from technology transfer

A defining assumption of the innovation literature is that the public sector suffers from an innovation deficit relative to other organizational forms. To examine this empirically, we use Stochastic Frontier Analysis to compare the efficiency of revenue generation and licensing activity for public and private nonprofit tech transfer offices. On average, we find no statistically significant efficiency differences in contract costs, revenue generation or licensing activity. We do not find evidence of a public innovation gap in tech transfer.