Leadership Cycles in a Quality-Ladder Model of Endogenous Growth

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Denicolo, Vincenzo; Zanchettin, Piercarlo
• 署名单位: University of Leicester; University of Bologna
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2012.02510.x
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 618-650
• 关键词: research-and-development; firm growth; COMPETITION; size; persistence; DYNAMICS; patents

摘要

We study a quality-ladder model of endogenous growth that produces stochastic leadership cycles. Over a cycle, industry leaders can innovate several successive times in the same sector before being replaced by a new entrant. Initially, new leaders do much of the research but they then tend to rest on their laurels and are eventually overtaken. The model generates a skewed firm size distribution and a deviation from Gibrat's law that accord with the empirical evidence. We also find conditions under which policy should favour R&D by incumbents, not outsiders, and show that stronger patent protection may reduce innovation and growth.