We study the interaction of customer capital and productivity through brand reallocation across firms. We develop a firm dynamics model with brands as transferable customer capital, heterogeneous firm productivity, and variable markups. We study the matching process between transferable brand...

We study a dynamic general equilibrium model where innovation takes the form of the introduction of new goods whose production requires skilled workers. Innovation is followed by a costly process of standardization, whereby these new goods are adapted to be produced using unskilled labor. Our...

There is considerable debate regarding the use of intellectual property rights (IPR) to spur innovation in the software industry. In this paper we focus on the choice of intellectual property right regimes and industry growth. We begin by developing a growth optimal mixture of open source and...

In the standard quality-ladder growth models, R&D firms undertake independent innovation processes to discover ideas whose value immediately transfers into tradeable applications. Here the standard multisector neo-Schumpeterian growth theory is extended by decomposing product innovation into a...

The growth effects of intellectual property right (IPR) protection are examined in a quality-ladder model of endogenous growth. Stronger IPR protection, which reduces the probability of imitation, raises the reward for innovation. However, stronger protection reduces the number of competitive...

This paper examines the growth effects of intellectual property right (IPR) protection in a quality-ladder model of endogenous growth. Stronger IPR protection, which reduces the imitation probability, increases the reward for innovation. However, stronger protection also gradually reduces the...

This paper proves three theorems on growth and competition in a standard increasing variety endogenous growth model and draws conclusions for second-best competition policies. First, no growth may be better than some growth, since modest positive growth potentially requires sizeable static...

The growth effects of intellectual property right (IPR) protection are examined in a quality-ladder model of endogenous growth. Stronger IPR protection, which reduces the probability of imitation, raises the reward for innovation. However, stronger protection reduces the number of competitive...

What form of intellectual property rights (IPR) policy contributes to economic growth? Should technological followers be able to license the products of technological leaders? Should a company with a large technological lead receive the same IPR protection as a company with a more limited lead?...

Recent empirical studies suggest a need for a ?exible patent regime responding to industry characteristics. In practice, sector-speci?c modi?cations of patent strength already exist but lack theoretical foundation. This paper intends to make up for this neglect by scrutinizing in what direction...