Contenu du sommaire : Economie de la recherche-développement

The economics of R-D Introduction to the pure theory Roger Guesnerie, Jean Tirole The article reviews the theoretical literature on R-D. Two themes are considered : the comparison of private and social value of an innovation, the competition for an innovation ; innovations being protected by patents. The private incentives to innovate are first examined according to the modalities of the exploitation of the invention and according to the pre and post innovation market structure (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly). The second part focuses on models where competition for innovation is formalized as a race and where preemption has a crucial role.

The intra-firm diffusion of innovation A survey and a model of technological learning Christian Le Bas The intra-firm diffusion of technological innovation has been annalized, so far, as a process which implies risks and doubtful result. Whether it's with E. Mansfield's determinist pattern where uncertainties decrease with diffusion or with P. Stoneman's probalist pattern which contains a fruitful learning focused on profitability, we conclude that the diffusion path is sigmoïd. What is shown in this article is that, we can get the same results if take into account, not the uncertainties in learning but the technological learning, with the definition of an autonomous learning function which would link time and labour productivity on new plants and some hypotheses as for the connections between productivity, profitability and diffusion indicators. However, these two complementary prospects dont eliminate the problems faced with the understanding of intra-firm technological advance.

The economic dynamics of technologies development Ehud Zuscovitch There is little about doubt the fact that specific major technologies shape the long waves in economic activity. The trouble is that we dont understand very well what exactly is meant economically by the term spectific technologies (synthetic materials microelectronics and alike). The purpose of this paper is to set a conceptual framework to fit this requirement and thus to understand the economic dynamics of the development process involved. Schumpeter did study the inno-vation's economies dynamics still, he did not elaborate a consistent story on the internal forces of a given technology. As for ourselves, following Schmookler by theorizing the behaviour of the small innovation (instead of the major one) and Rosenberg by taking into consideration the technical heuristic as such we suggest a framework for the dynamics of technologies' development. We use an evolutionnary approach a la Nelson & Winter and gradually define the different components of this special dynamics. A specific technology will appear to be a theoretical unit which gives structure to elementary small innovations according to a particular cumulative path.

The rate of obsolescence and the distribution Of patent values : some evidence from european patent Renewals Mark Schankerman, Ariel Pakes This paper presents econometric estimates of the rate of obsolescence and the distribution of the private value of holding patents. The estimates are derived by combining information on patent renewals and renewal fees in Europeen countries with a simple economic model of the renewal decision of patent holders. The model is applied to two sets of data the first covering four European countries during the period 1930-1939, and the second including all patent applications mode in France during 1950-1979. Two principal empirical findings emerge. First, the private rate of obsolescence is high, both from the prewar and the post-war data. Second, the distribution of the value of holding patents is sharply skewed to the right. More broadly, the results suggest the potential use of patent renewal data for measuring the value of patent rights in different sectors and countries and over time.

Factor demands research and development : estimates for the U.S., Japan, Germant and France Pierre Mohnen, Ishaq Nadiri The focus of this study is to compare two adjustment cost models and to quantify the impact of disequilibrium in factors of production on the growth and slowdown of labour productivity. A gross output model and a value added model are estimated for the manufacturing sectors of the U.S., Japan, West Germany and France over the period 1965-1966/1977-1978. The physical capital stock and the stock of R & D knowledge are considered as quasi-fixed inputs, whereas labor and materials (or labor and energy depending on the model) are treated as variable inputs. The analysis within the gross output framework reveals the sluggishness of labor and the cyclical behavior of labor productivity. The parametric estimation of the weights pertaining to the various inputs in the growth accounting of labor productivity reveals that the introduction of disequilibrium reduces the residual, often interpreted as technical progress, but explains very little of the labor productivity slowdown.

R-D, international technology imports And economic growth. an international comparison Luc Soete, Pari Patel This paper provides an attempt at relating the output and productivity growth performance of the largest OECD-Countries to their domestic R & D — expen-ditures and technology imports. It is found that the way estimated R & D and technology (including also technology imports) capital stock influence output and productivity growth differs significantly between the various countries, and in particular that the output and productivity elasticities with respect to technology are significantly higher in the case of Germany and Japan and lower in the case of the U.K.

Research-development and firm performance : An econometr1c study on individual data Jacques Mairesse, Philippe Cunéo The study is based on a sample of 390 large and medium sized firms from the Chemical, Electrical equipment and Machinery industries, which either do or not invest in Research and Development (RD). In the first part, R-D and non-R-D firms are directly compared, the results showing that the differences in caracteristics and performance between them are not as sharp as one could have expected. In the second part, the comparison rests instead on the R-D and the physical investment of the firms, based on a production function approach. The econometric estimates agree rather well with the idea that R-D capital has a similar productivity and profitability to that of the physical capital stock. An analysis of the robustness provides a better underrtanding of the meaning of the results ; it brings into focus the problem of the discrepancy between the cross-section and time-series type of estimates ; it also raises the question of the complementarity between tobor qualification and capital.

Research and development expenditures and foreign Technological payments in french industry Jean-Paul, François French industry is a net importer of technology. In the field of patents and licenses the deficit is important : it is caused mostly by the heavy purchase of these patents from advanced industriailized countries. It is only partially offset by the revenue earned thanks to the sale, mostly to developing countries, of know-how and related services, a sector which is less technology-intensive. In order to make the link between these patterns of exchange and Research and Development in France clear, a data base has been set up. The analysis of this nearly exhaustive data set shows in particular, that the aspect of technology « transformation » which is apparently typical of French industry — because of its effort in R & D — is in fact the resulting combination of very different kinds of actions on the part of two types of firms. Nationalized industries do most of the R c& D in France, they are not strongly oriented towards the outside world and mostly export-know and related services. Subsidiaries of foreign companies import technology heavily, for the most part patents and licenses and their contribution to R & D in France is weak.

Major innovation and changes in the productive structures Of casting industry : the fullmold casting progress Dominique Foray This article has been written in a twofold perspective. It is meant both to describe the adjustment method.s of a major innovation in casting industry : the Fullmold Casting Process, and to show some characteristics of the. innovation process by stressing the changes it creates in the productive structures. After taking a comprehensive view of the major technical changes in casting industry in order to show how the contents of technical research as well as its orientation have been determined, we describe technical and scientific factors which seem to be the most important in the innovation process. Then we try to give a general description of the impact this innovation has had on the productive structures of casting industry and thereby emphasize that as technological processes become more sophisticated operating methods get all the easier.