Import competition, multi-product firms, and basic innovation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Runjuan; Rosell, Carlos
• 署名单位: University of Alberta
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.08.004
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 220-234
• 关键词: Basic innovation; import competition; Multi-product firm

摘要

How does firm strategy to produce basic innovation respond to international trade? Given the importance of basic innovation for economic growth and welfare, better understanding of this question is essential. In this vein we combine patent, firm, product, and trade data to show that when confronted with higher import penetration, the nature of firm innovation becomes less basic. We propose that underlying this result is the interplay between multi-product firms that narrow their product scope when exposed to greater import competition and the difficulty inventors face when capturing all benefits derived from their basic innovations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.