Investment in intangible capital--in particular, research and development--increased dramatically since the 1990s. However, productivity growth remains sluggish in recent years. One potential reason is that a significant share of the increase in intangible investment is geared toward consumer...

We provide evidence that risk aversion leads pharmaceutical firms to underinvest in radical andnovel innovation. We do so by introducing a new measure of novelty: a drug candidate is novelif it is molecularly distinct from prior candidates. Using our measure, we show that firms face arisk-reward...

We examine the role of spillover learning in shaping the value of exploratory versus incremental R&D. Using data from drug development, we show that novel drug candidates generate more knowledge spillovers than incremental ones. Despite being less likely to reach regulatory approval, they are...

This paper provides evidence that risk aversion leads pharmaceutical firms to underinvest in radical innovation. We define a drug candidate as novel if it is molecularly distinct from prior candidates. Using our measure, we show that firms face a risk-reward tradeoff when investing in novel...

Investment in intangible capital—in particular, research and development—increased dramatically since the 1990s. However, productivity growth remains sluggish in recent years. One potential reason is that a significant share of the increase in intangible investment is geared toward consumer...