How Resilient is Venture-Backed Innovation? Evidence from Four Decades of U.S. Patenting

Previously circulated as “Financial Distancing: How Venture Capital Follows the Economy Down and Curtails Innovation.” We thank Patrick Clapp, Kathleen Ryan, Terrence Shu, Yuan Sun, and Jun Wong for research assistance and are grateful to Shai Bernstein, Bill Janeway, Filippo Mezzanotti, and attendees of the Harvard Business School “COVID and entrepreneurship” brownbag lunch and the Workshop on Entrepreneurial Finance and Innovation for helpful comments. Lerner has received compensation from advising institutional investors in venture capital funds, venture capital groups, and governments designing policies relevant to venture capital. Lerner and Nanda thank the Division of Research and Faculty Development at HBS for financial support. All errors are our own.

• May 12, 2020