Identifying Technology Spillovers and Product Market Rivalry

57 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2008

See all articles by Nicholas Bloom

Nicholas Bloom

Stanford University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Mark A. Schankerman

London School of Economics and Political Science; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

John Van Reenen

London School of Economics - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP); Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2005

Abstract

Support for many R&D and technology policies relies on empirical evidence that R&D "spills over" between firms. But there are two countervailing R&D spillovers: positive effects from technology spillovers and negative effects from business stealing by product market rivals. We develop a general framework showing that technology and product market spillovers have testable implications for a range of performance indicators, and exploits these using distinct measures of a firm's position in technology space and product market space. We show using panel data on U.S. firms between 1981 and 2001 that both technology and product market spillovers operate, but that net social returns are several times larger than private returns. The spillover effects are also revealed when we analyze three hightech sectors in detail - pharmaceuticals, computer hardware and telecommunication equipment. Using the model we evaluate three R&D subsidy policies and show that the typical focus of support for small and medium firms may be misplaced.

JEL Classification: 031, 032, 033, F23

Suggested Citation

Bloom, Nicholas and Schankerman, Mark A. and Van Reenen, John Michael, Identifying Technology Spillovers and Product Market Rivalry (January 2005). LSE STICERD Research Paper No. EI40, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1158317

Nicholas Bloom (Contact Author)

Stanford University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Mark A. Schankerman

London School of Economics and Political Science ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

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John Michael Van Reenen

London School of Economics - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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