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Scale, Scope and Spillovers: The Determinants of Research Productivity in the Pharmaceutical Industry

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Rebecca Henderson
Iain Cockburn

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Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of the determinants of research productivity in the pharmaceutical industry. Using disaggregated, internal firm data at the research program level from ten major pharmaceutical companies, we find no evidence of increasing returns to scale at either the firm or the research program level. However our results suggest that there are three benefits to running research programs within the context of larger and more diversified R&D efforts: economies of scale arising from sharing fixed costs; economies of scope arising from the opportunity to exploit knowledge across program boundaries within the firm; and the enhanced ability to absorb internal and external spillovers. We also find that spillovers between firms may playa major role in increasing research productivity. The paper also speaks directly to the question of firm heterogeneity. A significant proportion of the "firm effect" identified in previous studies can be explained by the slowly changing composition of the research portfolio, as well as by less easily measured aspects of innovative capability.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 4466.

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Date of creation: Sep 1993
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4466

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L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1994. "Evaluating technological information and utilizing it : Scientific knowledge, technological capability, and external linkages in biotechnology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 91-114, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Jaffe, Adam B, 1988. "Demand and Supply Influences in R&D Intensity and Productivity Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(3), pages 431-37, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Bronwyn H. Hall & Zvi Griliches & Jerry A. Hausman, 1986. "Patents and R&D: Is There A Lag?," NBER Working Papers 1454, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jerry A. Hausman & Bronwyn H. Hall & Zvi Griliches, 1984. "Econometric Models for Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship," NBER Technical Working Papers 0017, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Zvi Griliches, 1992. "The Search for R&D Spillovers," NBER Working Papers 3768, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. DiMasi, Joseph A. & Hansen, Ronald W. & Grabowski, Henry G. & Lasagna, Louis, 1991. "Cost of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 107-142, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Jensen, Elizabeth J, 1987. "Research Expenditures and the Discovery of New Drugs," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(1), pages 83-95, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Cohen, Wesley M. & Levin, Richard C., 1989. "Empirical studies of innovation and market structure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 18, pages 1059-1107 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Cameron, A Colin & Trivedi, Pravin K, 1986. "Econometric Models Based on Count Data: Comparisons and Applications of Some Estimators and Tests," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 29-53, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Dasgupta, Partha & Stiglitz, Joseph, 1980. "Industrial Structure and the Nature of Innovative Activity," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 90(358), pages 266-93, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Grabowski, Henry G & Vernon, John M & Thomas, Lacy Glenn, 1978. "Estimating the Effects of Regulation on Innovation: An International Comparative Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Industry," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 133-63, April.
  13. Baily, Martin Neil, 1972. "Research and Development Costs and Returns: The U. S. Pharmaceutical Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(1), pages 70-85, Jan.-Feb.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Acs, Zoltan J & Audretsch, David B, 1988. "Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(4), pages 678-90, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Comanor, William S, 1986. "The Political Economy of the Pharmaceutical Industry," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 1178-1217, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Cockburn, Iain & Henderson, Rebecca, 1994. "Racing to Invest? The Dynamics of Competition in Ethical Drug Discovery," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 3(3), pages 481-519, Fall.
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  17. Spence, Michael, 1984. "Cost Reduction, Competition, and Industry Performance," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(1), pages 101-21, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Reinganum, Jennifer F., 1989. "The timing of innovation: Research, development, and diffusion," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 14, pages 849-908 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Vernon, John M & Gusen, Peter, 1974. "Technical Change and Firm Size: The Pharmaceutical Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 56(3), pages 294-302, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Fisher, Franklin M & Temin, Peter, 1973. "Returns to Scale in Research and Development: What Does the Schumpeterian Hypothesis Imply ?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(1), pages 56-70, Jan.-Feb.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Panzar, John C., 1989. "Technological determinants of firm and industry structure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 3-59 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Jovanovic, B., 1993. "The Diversification of Production," Working Papers 93-11, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University. [Downloadable!]
  2. Husted, Kenneth, 1999. "Between Autonomy and Control: The role of industrial researchers’ decision-making," Working Papers 11/1999, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Management, Politics & Philosophy. [Downloadable!]
  3. C. Piga & M. Vivarelli, 2003. "Sample selection in estimating the determinants of cooperative R&D," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 243-246, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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