This dissertation consists of three linked articles on the allocation of R&D resources in the economy and its impact on innovation and economic growth. First, I document large and persistent differences in firm-level R&D returns, which is sur- prising as traditional growth models with frictions and competitive markets for R&D inputs predict that R&D resources flow from low to high R&D return firms until they are equalized. I show that differences in firms’ labor market power over inventors can explain R&D return differences and provide evidence in favor of this hypothesis. Finally, using an endogenous growth model I estimate that such differences are quantitatively important for R&D returns dispersion and that economic growth would be significantly faster without this friction. Second, I pursue a summary statistic approach to determining the allocative efficiency of R&D resources in the US. Empirically, I find that allocative efficiency has declined over time with potentially large negative consequences for US economic growth. Finally, I investigate the empirical contribution of workforce aging in the US to the slowdown in economic growth. My evidence suggests that workforce aging leads to slower economic growth, partly due to lower demand for new technologies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/49212 |
| Date | 06 September 2024 |
| Creators | Lehr, Nils Haakon |
| Contributors | Terry, Stephen J., Restrepo, Pascual |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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