South Carolina Invention Index – September 2020

The Invention Index measures a country’s or state’s innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

South Carolina Invention Index September 2020: 1.52% (A- grade)

South Carolina Invention Index over the last year:

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

Discussion:

In September, South Carolina’s Invention INDEX scored a positive sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average and underperformed the slight downward trend for the year. This is in contrast to the prior 12 months, which experienced an upward trend. Despite the evolving situation with Covid-19, there has been no sudden drop in patent numbers. However, it is possible that these approvals are happening on patents applied for prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. If this is the case, we may see a decrease in approvals – and a reduced Invention Index – in the coming months/years as the state feels the full economic impact of companies closing and/or being forced to minimize their staffing and therefore minimize their R&D work hours.

Learn more about the Invention Index here.