Market Structure, Innovation and Productivity: An Empirical Approach

prof.dr. J. Boone, UvT

The research proposal addresses the intriguing relationship between competition and innovation for the Netherlands. Recent findings for the UK suggest that the relationship is shaped like an inverted U. As empirics for the Netherlands are missing, the research fills in this gap by using Dutch firm-level data.
Applying econometric techniques, it controls for the endogeneity problem between innovation and competition. Moreover, the research explicitly focuses on what is meant by ‘competition’ and how policy can affect productivity (growth) through competition policy and/or innovation policy. Finally, the importance of market structures and size of firms are also taken into account.