Abstract
We use a laboratory experiment to study the link between cooperative research and development (R&D) in clean technology and collusion in a downstream product market in the presence of a time-consistent emissions tax. Such a tax creates additional interconnections between firms, in addition to the standard technological spillovers. Our results show a strong link between R&D cooperation and market collusion under symmetric R&D spillovers in a duopoly, but when the spillovers are asymmetric, R&D cooperation does not necessarily result in collusion. With symmetric spillovers, the link between R&D cooperation and collusion remains strong even in three- and four-firm industries. (JEL C90, L5, O30, Q55).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1950-1979 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| Journal | Economic Inquiry |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2018 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Business,Management and Accounting
- Economics and Econometrics