Search and the market for ideas

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Silveira, Rafael; Wright, Randall
• 署名单位: University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Minneapolis
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2010.01.004
• 发表日期: 2010
• 页码: 1550-1573
• 关键词: ideas; Technology transfer; search; bargaining; liquidity

摘要

We study a market where innovators, who are good at coming up with ideas, can sell them to entrepreneurs, who might be better at implementing them. The market is decentralized, with random matching and bargaining. Ideas are characterized by five salient features: they are indivisible; partially nonrival; intermediate inputs; subject to informational frictions; and difficult to collateralize. This last feature gives rise to a demand by entrepreneurs for liquidity. We determine which ideas get traded in equilibrium and compare this to the efficient outcome, emphasizing the impact of bargaining and liquidity considerations. Among other applications, we study how outcomes in the idea market affect the labor market. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.