This paper, written for a conference of the Society for Economic Research on Copyright Issues, ex... more This paper, written for a conference of the Society for Economic Research on Copyright Issues, explores the history of copyright protection for musical compositions. The first modern copyright law did not cover musical works. The role of Johann Christian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johann Neopmuk Hummel in securing legal changes is traced. How Giuseppe Verdi exploited the new copyright law in Northern Italy is analyzed. The paper argues that Verdi, enriched by copyright protection, reduced his compositional effort along a backward-bending supply curve. However, his good fortune may have had a demonstration effect inducing other talented individuals to become composers. An attempt to determine the impact of legal changes on entry into composing is inconclusive. The paper shows, however, that a golden age of musical composition nevertheless occurred in nations that lacked copyright protection for musical works.
The original version of this article contained an error in the vertical scale of Figure 4. The pr... more The original version of this article contained an error in the vertical scale of Figure 4. The price marked ''35'' should be ''25.'' The error is also transported into the text on page 7 (8th line). The error does not invade the calculations underlying Tables 1 and 2 or other tables presented in a longer version of the paper.
We combine estimates of the value of patent rights from a survey of patent-holders with a set of ... more We combine estimates of the value of patent rights from a survey of patent-holders with a set of indicator variables in order to model the value of patents. Our results suggest that the number of references to the patent literature as well as the citations a patent receives are positively related to its value. References to the non-patent literature are informative about the value of pharmaceutical and chemical patents, but not in other technical fields. Patents which are upheld in opposition and annulment procedures and patents representing large international patent families are particularly valuable.
Mergers and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry
Journal of Health Economics, 2013
Conflicting trends confound the pharmaceutical industry. The productivity of pharmaceutical innov... more Conflicting trends confound the pharmaceutical industry. The productivity of pharmaceutical innovation has declined in recent years. At the same time, the cohort of large companies who are the leading engines of pharmaceutical R&D has become increasingly concentrated. The concurrent presence of these trends is not sufficient to determine causation. In response to lagging innovation prospects, some companies have sought refuge in mergers and acquisitions to disguise their dwindling prospects or gain R&D synergies. On the other hand, the increased concentration brought on by recent mergers may have contributed to the declining rate of innovation. In this paper, we consider the second of these causal relationships: the likely impact of the recent merger wave among the largest pharmaceutical companies on the rate of innovation. In other words, have recent mergers, which may have been taken in response to lagging innovation, represented a self-defeating strategy that only made industry outcomes worse?
Market structure and the employment of scientists and engineers
The American Economic Review, 1967
I. The Data The hypothesis tested is that industrial inventive and innovative effort, measured by... more I. The Data The hypothesis tested is that industrial inventive and innovative effort, measured by the employment of technical engineers and scientists, increases with the concentration of market power, other relevant variables such as total industry employment, technological ...
Market pioneers can develop first-mover advantages that span decades. The most general first-move... more Market pioneers can develop first-mover advantages that span decades. The most general first-mover advantage that helps explain higher pioneer market share levels is a broad product line or brand proliferation. In markets for experience goods, pioneers tend to shape consumer tastes and preferences in favor of the pioneering brand. While the preliminary results vary by industry, they indicate that market pioneers do not tend to perish more often than later entrants. Accounting profits for market pioneers generally are lower in the first four years of operation, but higher thereafter. Overall, market pioneers follow innovative strategies that have high initial costs and risks, but yield high potential returns.
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Microeconomics, 1995
ON AVERAGE, manufacturing productivity (measured by real value added per hour) is higher in U.S. ... more ON AVERAGE, manufacturing productivity (measured by real value added per hour) is higher in U.S. operations than in Japanese or European operations, but productivity by industry varies substantially from country to country.' What is not well established is why such international productivity differences exist. This paper explores international productivity differences in manufacturing industries across Germany, Japan, and the United States and offers an explanation for them. We develop an extension and a refinement of the industry-of-origin method to provide new measures of productivity in nine industries located in the three countries (automobiles, automotive parts, metalworking, steel, computers, consumer electronics, food, beer, and soap and detergent). Then we combine publicly available data with the industry knowledge and assessments by experts within McKinsey & Company to determine the reasons for productivity differences. The nature of the explanation takes place at two levels, the first of which is at the production process level. We look for differences in the use of capital, technology, and skills-how the variables that enter the production This paper is based on the McKinsey manufacturing project (McKinsey Global Institute 1993) and all data, unless otherwise indicated, is derived from that project. The project was directed by William Lewis, Heino Fassbender, and Martin Neil Baily. Hans Gersbach was the project coordinator. Other members of the team were Bart van Ark,
Inter-Industry Technology Flows and Productivity Growth
The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1982
... to using industries, as ascertained from 1972 US input-output tables (modified inter alia to ... more ... to using industries, as ascertained from 1972 US input-output tables (modified inter alia to ... Regressions 1.7 and 1.8 reveal a deterio-ration of the relationship when the shorter and more ... the productivity growth slump of the 1970s, it is useful to examine the slump's magnitude in ...
Inter-Industry Technology Flows and Productivity Growth
The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1982
... to using industries, as ascertained from 1972 US input-output tables (modified inter alia to ... more ... to using industries, as ascertained from 1972 US input-output tables (modified inter alia to ... Regressions 1.7 and 1.8 reveal a deterio-ration of the relationship when the shorter and more ... the productivity growth slump of the 1970s, it is useful to examine the slump's magnitude in ...
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