This paper uses the adoption and invention of the spinning jenny as a test case to understandwhy the industrial revolution occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century rather than inFrance or India. It is shown that wages were much higher relative to capital prices in Britainthan in other...

It is shown that spillovers can enhance private returns to innovation if they feedback into the dynamic research of the original inventor (Internalized spillovers), butwill always reduce private returns, if the original inventor does not benefit fromthe advancements other inventors build into...

We propose a framework for analyzing transformations of demand. Such transformations frequently stem from changes in the dispersion of consumers` valuations, which lead to rotations of the demand curve. In a wide variety of settings, profits are a U-shaped function of dispersion. A high level of...

This paper considers the impact of reviewers on sales of products of quality unknown to consumers. Sales occur simultaneously after consideration by a reviewer with a known level of bias. Consumers observe the reviewer`s decision and a private signal. We find that: (a) with flexible prices and...

The trend towards Internet self-regulation is driven both by gov-ernments that feel reluctant to invest in direct regulation (because offreedom of speech concerns or high cots of monitoring and enforce-ment) and by the industry that is under the threat of rising publicconcerns over content...

Firms selling multiple quality-differentiated products frequently alter theirproduct lines when a competitor enters the market. We present a model of multiproductmonopoly and duopoly using a general “upgrades” approach that yields a powerfulanalytical framework. We provide a simple...

This paper evaluates alternative strategic models of competition and market structure inonline retailing, and makes comparisons with traditional retailing. Online consumers areless concerned than traditional consumers about spatial characteristics and moreconcerned about hidden quality...

This paper presents an industry equilibrium model of vertical integration under contractualimperfections with speci…c input suppliers and external investors. I assume that vertical inte-gration economizes on the needs for contracts with speci…c input suppliers at the cost of higher…xed costs....

This study provides statistical evidence that Russian rural/urban wages diverged substantiallyduring the industrialization of Russia in the late nineteenth century. However, over time boththe variation declined and integration somewhat increased as rural labor responded to newopportunities. The...

The UK’s business R&D (BERD) to GDP ratio is low compared to other leading economies,and the ratio has slowly declined over the 1990s. This paper uses data on large UK firms toanalyse the link between R&D and productivity over the 1989-2000 period. Using aproduction function approach, and a...