The last decades have seen large improvements in digital advertising technology that allowed firms to better target specific consumer tastes. This research studies the relationship among digital advertising, the rise of varieties, and economic welfare. We develop a model of advertising and...

We study the relationship between patents and actual product innovation in the market, and how this relationship varies with firms' market share. We use textual analysis to create a new data set that links patents to products of firms in the consumer goods sector. We find that patent filings are...

This working paper reviews recent empirical evidence on large firms and nonproductive strategies that hinder creative destruction and reallocation. The focus is on three types of nonproductive strategies: political connections, nonproductive patenting, and anticompetitive acquisitions. Across...