Patent pools, which combine complementary patents of competing firms, are expected to increase overall welfare – but … potentially discourage innovation in substitutes for the pool technology. This paper exploits a new historical data set on changes … industry to investigate the effects of a pool on innovation in substitutes. This analysis reveals a substantial increase in …

We examine the effect of prizes on innovation using data on awards for technological development offered by the Royal …” technology sectors. Prizes encouraged competition and medals were more important than monetary awards. The boost to innovation we …

Patent pools allow a group of firms to combine their patents as if they were a single firm. Theoretical models predict … that pools encourage innovation in pool technologies, albeit at the cost of innovation in substitutes. Empirical evidence … innovations by new firms for a historical pool in the sewing machine industry (1856-1877) to examine effects on innovation …