Of Mice and Academics: Examining the Effect of Openness on Innovation

Fiona Murray, Philippe Aghion, Mathias Dewatripont, Julian Kolev and Scott Stern

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 212-52

Abstract: This paper argues that openness, by lowering costs to access existing research, can enhance both early and late stage innovation through greater exploration of novel research directions. We examine a natural experiment in openness: late-1990s NIH agreements that reduced academics' access costs regarding certain genetically engineered mice. Implementing difference-in-differences estimators, we find that increased openness encourages entry by new researchers and exploration of more diverse research paths, and does not reduce the creation of new genetically engineered mice. Our findings highlight a neglected cost of strong intellectual property restrictions: lower levels of exploration leading to reduced diversity of research output. (JEL I23, O31, O33, O34)

JEL-codes: I23 O31 O33 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20140062
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Of Mice and Academics: Examining the Effect of Openness on Innovation (2016)
Working Paper: Of Mice and Academics: Examining the Effect of Openness on Innovation (2009)
Working Paper: Of Mice and Academics: Examining the Effect of Openness on Innovation (2009)
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