DO STRONGER PATENTS LEAD TO FASTER INNOVATION? THE EFFECT OF CLUSTERED SEARCH

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Das, Kaustav; Klein, Nicolas
• 署名单位: University of Leicester; Universite de Montreal; Universite de Montreal; Universite de Montreal
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/iere.12688
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 915-954
• 关键词: Strategic experimentation; market-structure; COMPETITION; PROTECTION; direction

摘要

We analyze a patent race between two firms choosing between an established and an innovative method. The unique Markov-perfect equilibrium coincides with the cartel solution if and only if firms have the same ability of leveraging a good innovative method or there is no patent protection. Otherwise, equilibrium efforts are clustered too much in the innovative method, as compared to the cartel benchmark. The expected time to a breakthrough is minimized at an interior patent strength. Thus, a decrease in R&D productivity can go hand-in-hand with a concentration of research efforts in riskier areas and stronger patent protections.