Abstract ``Absorptive capacity" – a firm's ability to assimilate information acquired from other firms – can depend on the amount of basic research it conducts. The optimal expenditures on basic research depend on its costs, and these expenditures in turn affect the amount of applied research...

A model of R&D cost sharing between a manufacturer and its component supplier is examined. The manufacturer can pay for a fraction of the supplier's cost-reducing R&D in return for a lower component price, and both firms can improve profits.