The lack of ex ante evaluation of germplasm in genebanks has been the single most prevalent and long-standing complaint of plant breeders about the management of genebanks. Advances in biotechnology offer the possibility of faster, cheaper and more efficient evaluation methodologies. Will these...

"When one patented innovation enables another, endogenous delay of the latter has important implications for the economics of patent life and scope, if licensing is negotiated <roman>ex post</roman>. Optimal patent life may be finite under competition, even if the royalty imposes no deadweight loss and there...

This study analyzes the dynamic effects of a patent reform in a model of cumulative innovation. It finds that the incentives at different stages of the innovation process are not uniform. The first innovator captures most of producers' surplus from a policy reform. The high incentive of the...