Discussion paper

DP2816 Price Competition, Innovation and Profitability: Theory and UK Evidence

This Paper examines the effect of price competition on innovation, market structure and profitability in R&D-intensive industries. The theoretical predictions are tested using UK data on the evolution of competition, concentration, innovation counts and profitability over 1952-77. The econometric results suggest that the introduction of restrictive practices legislation in the UK had no significant effect on the number of innovations commercialized in previously cartelized R&D-intensive manufacturing industries, while it caused a significant rise in concentration in these industries. In the short run profitability decreased, but in the long run it was restored through the rise in concentration.

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Citation

Symeonidis, G (2001), ‘DP2816 Price Competition, Innovation and Profitability: Theory and UK Evidence‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 2816. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp2816