Free Movement of Inventors: Open-Border Policy and Innovation in Switzerland
Gabriele Cristelli; Francesco Lissoni · 2026 · Journal of the European Economic Association
WASTE classifies this as Negative / Null Result Report · AI classification, approximate
The study found no significant effect — useful as a negative control or null benchmark for your own design.
Abstract
Abstract We study the innovation effects of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, signed by Switzerland and the European Union in 1999. We exploit a quasi-experimental setting created by Switzerland’s implementation of the treaty, which initially eased entry restrictions only for commuters from neighboring countries, thereby inducing a large inflow of “cross-border inventors” in regions close to the border. We find that the treaty increased patenting in such regions relative to comparable ones farther away from the border. We find no evidence indicating the displacement of native inve
Abstract by Gabriele Cristelli; Francesco Lissoni, Journal of the European Economic Association (2026) — licensed CC BY 4.0.
About to run something similar?
Run an AI Precheck on your own design to catch failure modes like this one before you spend the time. Your first desk check is free.
Related failures
The Oregon Experiment — Effects of Medicaid on Clinical Outcomes
Negative / Null Result ReportMicrocredit in Theory and Practice: Using Randomized Credit Scoring for Impact Evaluation
Negative / Null Result ReportThe Cost of Carbon: Capital Market Effects of the Proposed Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)
Negative / Null Result ReportPushing on a string: US monetary policy is less powerful in recessions ∗
Negative / Null Result ReportThe Evidence on Globalisation
Negative / Null Result ReportStatistical tests for power-law cross-correlated processes
WASTE indexes this work — it does not host or republish it. Failure-type classification is automated and approximate.
Metadata source: OpenAlex · DOI 10.1093/jeea/jvag003