Subsidies, entry and the distribution of R&D investment

John Asker and Mariagiovanna Baccara

International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2010, vol. 28, issue 3, 254-270

Abstract: We analyze the link between entry and R&D spending distribution. We consider a monopolistic competitive market with free entry in which firms can invest in cost-cutting R&D by paying a fixed cost first. For an intermediate level of fixed cost, there is a unique equilibrium in which the market segments into investing and non-investing firms. We show that the measure of R&D investing firms decreases as entry occurs. Using this result, we show how alternative government policies affect the R&D spending distribution. In particular, we characterize the cases in which incentives to promote R&D spending can result in exit. We show that while subsidy to entry may be welfare neutral from the consumers' point of view, R&D subsidies, despite promoting exit sometimes, are always welfare improving. Data motivating these results are drawn from the Taiwanese and Korean semiconductor industries.

Keywords: Entry; Subsidy; Research; and; development; Product; differentiation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:indorg:v:28:y:2010:i:3:p:254-270

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