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March 2008
6 x 9, 128 pp., 9 illus.
$16.00/£11.95 (PAPER)
Short

ISBN-10:
0-262-51202-5
ISBN-13:
978-0-262-51202-2

Other Editions
Cloth (2005)
Series
Zeuthen Lectures
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Competition and Growth
Reconciling Theory and Evidence
Philippe Aghion and Rachel Griffith

Table of Contents and Sample Chapters

Though competition occupies a prominent place in the history of economic thought, among economists today there is still a limited, and sometimes contradictory, understanding of its impact. In Competition and Growth, Philippe Aghion and Rachel Griffith offer the first serious attempt to provide a unified and coherent account of the effect competition policy and deregulated entry has on economic growth.

The book takes the form of a dialogue between an applied theorist calling on "Schumpeterian growth" models and a microeconometrician employing new techniques to gauge competition and entry. In each chapter, theoretical models are systematically confronted with empirical data, which either invalidates the models or suggests changes in the modeling strategy. Aghion and Griffith note a fundamental divorce between theorists and empiricists who previously worked on these questions. On one hand, existing models in industrial organization or new growth economics all predict a negative effect of competition on innovation and growth: namely, that competition is bad for growth because it reduces the monopoly rents that reward successful innovators. On the other hand, common wisdom and recent empirical studies point to a positive effect of competition on productivity growth. To reconcile theory and evidence, the authors distinguish between pre- and post-innovation rents, and propose that innovation may be a way to escape competition, an idea that they confront with microeconomic data. The book's detailed analysis should aid scholars and policy makers in understanding how the benefits of tougher competition can be achieved while at the same time mitigating the negative effects competition and imitation may have on some sectors or industries.

About the Authors

Philippe Aghion is Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

Rachel Griffith is Deputy Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and a Reader in Industrial Organization at University College London.


Endorsements

"An engaging presentation of a major research program on the effects of competition on economic growth. The book is an essential guide for sorting out the package of competition policies—antitrust, patent protection, R&D subsidies—that best serve the economy."
Robert J. Barro, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, Harvard University

"Aghion and Griffith's new book should be required reading for anyone interested in the drivers of economic growth in the modern economy."
Rebecca Henderson, Eastman Kodak LFM Professor of Management, Sloan School, MIT



Awards

Winner of the 2006 Schumpeter Prize Competition.





See Other Titles In:
Economics, Finance, and Business
 Econometrics & Statistical Methods
 Economic Theory
 Industrial Organization
 Innovation Policy
 
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