Downstream R&D, raising rivals' costs, and input price contracts

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

International Journal of Industrial Organization

Publication Date

1-1-2003

Volume

21

Issue

1

First Page

79

Last Page

96

Abstract

We analyze the incentives for cost-reducing R&D by downstream firms in a two-tier market structure. By increasing the demand for an input, downstream R&D allows the upstream firm to raise its input price. This lowers the benefit of R&D to a downstream firm but raises its rivals' costs. As a result, a downstream oligopolist may invest more in R&D than a downstream monopolist, a phenomenon that is absent in a purely horizontal R&D setting. Fixed-price agreements (where the input price remains unchanged following downstream R&D) promote innovation by eliminating the opportunistic behavior of the input supplier and are welfare enhancing.

DOI

10.1016/S0167-7187(02)00010-3

Print ISSN

01677187

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V.

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Banerjee, S., & Lin, P. (2003). Downstream R&D, raising rivals' costs, and input price contracts. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 21(1), 79-96. doi: 10.1016/S0167-7187(02)00010-3

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