A well-developed theoretical literature - dating back at least to Nordhaus (1969) - has analyzed optimal patent policy design. We re-present the core trade-off of the Nordhaus model and highlight an empirical question which emerges from the Nordhaus framework as a key input into optimal patent policy design: namely, what is the elasticity of R&D investment with respect to the patent term? We th...

Despite the substantial growth of IT investments, evidence on their impact on firm performance remains inconclusive. An important management question is whether anticipated economic benefits of IT investments are being realized. The intangible benefits obtained from IT are not captured by accrual-based accounting measures alone, and, therefore, call for a comprehensive measure that focuses on s...

Research can play a critical role in the response to global health challenges. But when resources are limited, guidelines are needed to assist decisions on defi ning the priorities for health research investments. An early attempt at the global level to defi ne health research priorities was made through the Commission on Health Research for Development in 1990 [1]. A number of subsequent initi...

The paper analyses the determinants of dividend payments and tests the hypothesis that companies pay dividends at the expense of investing in research and development (R&D). The evidence suggests that four fundamental factors – size, growth, profitability and risk – determine the decision to pay dividends but also to invest in R&D. Consistent with previous evidence, the average R&D intensity of...

The United States will invest nearly US$70 billion (US$260 per capita) on medical research this year, more than half of which will be sponsored by the biopharmaceutical industry. This investment has been shown to provide major gains in basic, disease-oriented and patient-oriented research. It also provides a huge economic return on investment--whether measured in terms of jobs created, health c...

Conditions and factors that affect the success or failure of investments in information technology (IT) are not well understood. In this paper we explore possible factors that impact the success of IT investments. We use event study methodology to determine successful investments. Among the factors we investigate are those that relate to the operation of the investing firm, such as the use of m...

An assumption in prior research is that debt is homogeneous and provides inappropriate governance for R&D investments. We argue that debt is heterogeneous: although transactional debt does indeed impose strict contractual constraints that provide inappropriate governance for R&D investments, relational debt has very different characteristics that provide more appropriate governance. Using a sam...