This study empirically investigates how imperfect information on prices, qualities and search costs affect prices and qualities. We build on a comprehensive dataset on the housing market that encompasses detailed buyer-specific information on mortgages, income and residential status before...

We evaluate the impact of foreclosure on house prices and are especially interested to evaluate heterogeneous impacts of foreclosure along the house size and income distributions across geographic regions. The study uses a novel and comprehensive dataset that encompasses detailed housing and...

Mergers realize heterogeneous competitive effects on profits, production, and prices. To date, it is unclear whether differential merger outcomes are caused mostly by firms' technology or product market attributes. Furthermore, empirical merger studies conventionally assume that, conditional on...

Merger control authorities may approve a merger based on a so-called “efficiency defence”. An important aspect in clearing mergers is that the efficiencies need to be merger-specific. Joint ventures, and in particular research joint ventures (RJVs), may achieve comparable efficiencies...

Complex high technology industries are increasingly affected by patent thickets in which firms' patents mutually block the use of important technologies. Firms facing patent thickets patent intensively to acquire bargaining chips and use licensing to ensure freedom to operate. Such licensing...

In this article, we examine why it is difficult to induce firms to form Research Joint Ventures (RJVs). We examine various incentives and disincentives for RJV formation by estimating an endogeneous switching model using data from the US National Cooperative Research Act. The empirical findings...

Previous studies on the measurement of learning-by-doing emphasize the importance of accounting for multi-vintage effects having an impact on firms' production costs through economies of scope. This study shows that accounting for cannibalization effects on the demand side is equally important...

Theoretical models of information asymmetry have identified a trade-off between the desire to learn and the desire to prevent an opponent from learning private information. This paper reports a laboratory experiment that investigates if actual bidders account for this trade-off, using a...

We investigate whether licensing agreements are an appropriate tool for firms to resolve blocking and hold-up problems in high-tech industries. We use a novel and comprehensive database on licensing agreements as well as detailed firm-level information on revenues and patents in the...

In the last ten years, the pharmaceutical industry has experienced steep, unprecedented price increases. Pharmaceutical companies engage in R&D cooperations to cope with rocketing research and development (R&D) expenses.We study the impact of R&D cooperations on firms' research activities and...