Creating the Conditions for the Right Kind of Innovation
“Innovation” and “innovative” are perhaps one of the most overused words in marketing. Nearly every innocuous action by a business is considered “innovative.” While there is no doubt that some new products and processes are innovative, many business actions fall well short of the public’s expectations, or worse, some actions considered “innovative” are nothing more than overt law-breaking.
In my new paper published in Competition Policy International, I assert that not all inventions, discoveries, processes, or methods of competition are universally per se good. The Article then details how robust antitrust enforcement between the 1940s-1970s channeled corporate resources into productive investments rather than employing unfair methods of competition. I then advocate for aggressive enforcement against mergers, unfair contracts, and dominant firms, along with selecting remedies like breakups and compulsory licensing, to realign business incentives to engage in genuine, socially beneficial innovation such as increased investments in productive capacity and worker benefits.
I hope you enjoy it.
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