There are two important rules in a patent race: what an innovator must accomplish to receive the patent and the allocation of the benefits that flow from the innovation. Most patent races end before R&D is completed and the prize to the innovator is often less than the social benefit of the...

In a world of incomplete, unenforceable contracts, both reputation effects and fairness concerns have been suggested as mechanisms capable of avoiding or mitigating market failure. Existing experiments show that labor market failure can be avoided in the absence of individual reputations,...