How Software Stifles Competition and Innovation
James Bessen, TPRI Executive Director’s, new article “How Software Stifles Competition and Innovation” in Communications of the ACM, Volume 66, Issue 10, October 2023 pp 34–36.
Tag: Competition
Declining Industrial Disruption
James Bessen, Erich Denk, Joowon Kim, Cesare Righi
This paper reports the first recent estimates of trends in the displacement of industry-leading firms. Displacement hazards rose for several decades since 1970 but have declined sharply since 2000. Using a production function-based model to explore the role of investments, acquisitions, and lobbying, we find that investments by dominant firms in intangibles, especially software, are distinctly associated with greater persistence and reduced leapfrogging.
Patents and Price Fixing by Serial Colluders
William E. Kovacic, Robert C. Marshall, and Michael J. Meurer
New research arguing for new policies to address serial collusion in various industries, including guidance to antitrust enforcers about how to better understand and combat serial collusion facilitated by patents.
From Productivity to Firm Growth
James Bessen and Erich Denk
New research finding that firm size, productivity dispersion, and large firm investments in intangibles can account for much of the decline in the response to productivity since 2000, and that industry concentration is directly related to aggregate productivity growth.
Unlocking Frontier Technology: The Policy Challenge of the Digital Economy
James Bessen writing for The Innovation Frontier Project at the Progressive Policy Institute on policy implications of large-scale IT investment leading to declining competition and increasing inequality.
Advanced Technologies Adoption and Use by U.S. Firms: Evidence from the Annual Business Survey
Kristina McElheran et al.
A new survey module intended to complement and expand research on the causes and consequences of advanced technology adoption by analyzing the 2018 Annual Business Survey.
Why Industries Don’t Get Disrupted like They Used to
James Bessen quoted in Quartz about declining industrial dynamism.
Declining Industrial Dynamism
James Bessen, Erich Denk, Joowon Kim, and Cesare Righi
New research shows the effects of investments in IT on reducing turnover among dominant firms.
The ACCESS Act Promises to Benefit Consumers
Robert Seamans in Forbes, about a new bill designed to improve competition and data portability between digital platforms.
Should We Break Up Big Tech?
Timothy Simcoe quoted in BU Today, on keeping tech firms from getting too big.