TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of public policies on innovation and imitation
T2 - The role of R&D technology in growth models
AU - CHEUNG, Leonard K.
AU - TAO, Zhigang
PY - 1999/1/1
Y1 - 1999/1/1
N2 - It has been shown under the assumption of linear R&D technology that a government subsidy to imitative (innovative) R&D decreases (increases) imitative effort but increases (decreases) innovative effort, and that strengthening the enforcement of patent laws leads to a decrease in innovative R&D but to an increase in imitative R&D. By replacing the linear R&D technology with a sufficiently convex R&D technology, we have shown that the counter-intuitive results are reversed. In the case of linear R&D technology, the socially optimal R&D policies and activities are indeterminate, but with convex R&D technology, optimal innovation and imitation subsidies would induce the market to generate socially 'balanced' innovative and imitative activities.
AB - It has been shown under the assumption of linear R&D technology that a government subsidy to imitative (innovative) R&D decreases (increases) imitative effort but increases (decreases) innovative effort, and that strengthening the enforcement of patent laws leads to a decrease in innovative R&D but to an increase in imitative R&D. By replacing the linear R&D technology with a sufficiently convex R&D technology, we have shown that the counter-intuitive results are reversed. In the case of linear R&D technology, the socially optimal R&D policies and activities are indeterminate, but with convex R&D technology, optimal innovation and imitation subsidies would induce the market to generate socially 'balanced' innovative and imitative activities.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0000627653&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1468-2354.00011
DO - 10.1111/1468-2354.00011
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
AN - SCOPUS:0000627653
SN - 0020-6598
VL - 40
SP - 187
EP - 207
JO - International Economic Review
JF - International Economic Review
IS - 1
ER -