Baumol on cooperation

[Lisa & Ian Murray]

Note the articles lack of mentioning the free rider problem that leads to
aggregate underinvestment in innovation; which is subsequently taken up
by...the state (taxpayers), especially in the era of Big Science.

"...the most pervasive and important technologies start in the public domain
in government laboratories and universities, then move to instrument makers
and capital goods manufacturers with strong R&D and only in the final stage
to large consumer goods industries and services." (Freeman and Soete, 1997,
186)

In a couple of monographs on his website Baumol suggests that if firms were
able to capture all the rents that spillover into the public domain, most
folks would still be living with an 18th century standard of living.

Ian