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Is There Really an Inverted U-shaped Relation Between Competition and R&D?

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Abstract

We test whether predictions of the Aghion and Howitt (2004) model are supported by firm level data. In particular, we analyze if there is an inverted U-shaped relation between competition and R&D. Results show that the inverted U-shaped relation is supported by the Herfindahl index but not by the price cost margin. Using the Herfindahl index results suggest that breaking up monopolies increases R&D while further increases in competition most likely leads to reduced R&D. Comparing different estimators, we find that time-series based estimators typically result in less clear-cut results, probably driven by a lack of time series variation in measures of competition.

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  • Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik & Poldahl, Andreas, 2005. "Is There Really an Inverted U-shaped Relation Between Competition and R&D?," EIJS Working Paper Series 207, Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:eijswp:0207
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    R&D; competition; firm size; spillovers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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