PREFACE
As chair of the Section of Antitrust Law, I am pleased to present
The Economics of Innovation: A Survey
. There exists decades of research by economists on the interaction between innovation and the patent system and the effects of market structure on innovation. ThisSurvey does not undertake to supply a definitive answer to the difficult question of how best toencourage innovation. Indeed, the literature offers varying hypotheses and findings concerningthe optimal breadth and length of patents, the benefits of “patent races,” and the impact of firmsize and market concentration on innovative activity. What this Survey does provide is areference source encapsulating the wealth of scholarship and a springboard for further researchand debate.We owe a special thanks to Philip Nelson, who chaired the Task Force, and to DarrellWilliams, Kevin Marshal, Robert Stoner, Stuart Gurrea, Gloria Hurdle and David Smith, whocontributed to the project, to Richard Gilbert, who reviewed the Survey, and to Howard Morse,who chairs the Section’s Intellectual Property Committee, who assigned and monitored thisSurvey.Roxane C. BuseyChair, 2001-2002
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