Competition in some product markets takes the form of a contest. If some firms cooperate in such markets, they must decide how to allocate effort on each of their products and whether to reduce the number of their products in the competition. We show how this decision depends on the convexity...

Where product innovation requires several complementary patents, fragmented property rights can limit firms' willingness to invest in R& D. We consider the research intensity in multiple simultaneous R& D contests and how it depends on whether firms already hold relevant patents as well as the...

Consider a committee that in the past has made a promise not to confiscate the profits from an investor. After the investment has taken place, there is a material benefit if the committee decides to default on the earlier promise. But in some situations there are also some small moral costs for...