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Monopoly capital and innovation: an exploratory assessment of R&D effectiveness

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  • Thomas E. Lambert

Abstract

This research note performs some limited empirical assessments of the monopoly capital school of thought contention that most research and development (R&D) efforts in the US are ‘wasted’ at the macroeconomic level in that as R&D succeeds by absorbing a little of the excess economic surplus generated by a capitalist system, it still fails to generate a lot of innovation of a transformative nature. At an aggregate level, greater R&D efforts are correlated with higher worker productivity and standards of living, which is to be expected according to mainstream economic theory and literature. Yet, R&D efforts regarding job creation, new firm creation, and net business investment show either mixed results or even negative connections. There is some preliminary empirical support in this paper for many aspects of the Baran and Sweezy point of view on R&D, and these findings also hint that R&D is used in a monopoly capital system to further monopolization. The findings of this note also may help to explain how productivity gains and innovation over the last few decades may not be benefitting the typical worker or the creation of small businesses as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas E. Lambert, 2020. "Monopoly capital and innovation: an exploratory assessment of R&D effectiveness," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 36-49, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:34:y:2020:i:1:p:36-49
    DOI: 10.1080/02692171.2019.1620703
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrey I. Vlasov & Ivan V. Gudoshnikov & Vladimir P. Zhalnin & Aksultan T. Kadyr & Vadim A. Shakhnov, 2020. "Market for memristors and data mining memory structures for promising smart systems," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(2), pages 98-115, December.
    2. Tristan Auvray & Cédric Durand & Joel Rabinovich & Cecilia Rikap, 2020. "Financialization's conservation and transformation: from Mark I to Mark II," Working Papers hal-03079425, HAL.
    3. Ayoze Alfageme, 2025. "The Rise of Merger and Acquisitions in the US: Consequences for Investment, Market Concentration, and Profits -An Integrated and a Macroeconomic Approach with Firm-Level Data," Working Papers PKWP2505, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    4. Ekaterina Y. Litau, 2020. "Scoring method as applied to innovation project evaluation for startup support," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(4), pages 2978-2990, June.
    5. repec:hal:cepnwp:hal-03079425 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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