Competition and Innovation: An Inverted-U Relationship

Peter Howitt, Rachel Griffith, Philippe Aghion, Richard Blundell () and Nicholas Bloom

Scholarly Articles from Harvard University Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between product market competition and innovation. We find strong evidence of an inverted-U relationship using panel data. We develop a model where competition discourages laggard firms from innovating but encourages neck-and-neck firms to innovate. Together with the effect of competition on the equilibrium industry structure, these generate an inverted-U. Two additional predictions of the model—that the average technological distance between leaders and followers increases with competition, and that the inverted-U is steeper when industries are more neck-and-neck—are both supported by the data.

Date: 2005
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2056)

Published in Quarterly Journal of Economics

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http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4481507/aghion_invertedu.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship (2005)
Working Paper: Competition and innovation: an inverted U relationship (2002)
Working Paper: Competition and Innovation: An Inverted U Relationship (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hrv:faseco:4481507

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