Inventing Institutions IT and Public Policy – Oct. 7, 2004 IT Ecosystem Inventing Institutions Stephen M. Maurer Goldman School of Public Policy
An IT Ecosystem? What’s An Ecosystem? The Usual Suspects Introduction • Evolution & History • Accidents & Optimization The Usual Suspects • Patents, Contracts, Grants, Prizes . . .
Hybrids New Experiments Introduction Government/Industry • Contracts + IP • “CRADAs” Academic/Industry • Grants + Patents • “Bayh-Dole”
Hybrids Can Hybrids Do Better? Introduction • DWL, Innovation, Eliciting Innovation & Agency Problems • Political Risks
Government - Industry Partnerships
Examples Naïve Objection: Government - Industry Partnerships • CRADAs, SBIR Grants, State Grants, University Grants, Incubators Naïve Objection: • Patents + Public Money = DWL + Agency Problems
Why Hybrids? Government - Industry Partnerships Reason to Believe That . . . Patents Might Fail and Contracts Might Fail
Why Patents Might Not Work . . . Government - Industry Partnerships Why Patents Might Not Work . . . High cost • Small vs. Big Projects • Financial markets 2. High risk • Technical and market risk
Why Patents Might Not Work . . . Government - Industry Partnerships Why Patents Might Not Work . . . Appropriability • IBM, AT&T . . . and Microsoft? Insufficient Patent Reward • (Π•v – c) > 0
Iron Triangles & Hidden Taxes Be Skeptical! Why Use Not Contracts? Government - Industry Partnerships A Tough Standard! Political Hazards Iron Triangles & Hidden Taxes Be Skeptical! Why Use Not Contracts? • No DWL!
Why Contracts Might Not Work . . . Government - Industry Partnerships Why Contracts Might Not Work . . . Agency Problem – Researchers • Estimated (v-c) • Going to the Beach
In Other Words . . . Government - Industry Partnerships 1. Government Cannot Monitor Performance - or - Government Cannot Pick Winners • Private Sector Knowledge of (v-c). • Conventional Wisdom • Incubators
When Patents and Contracts Don’t Work . . . . . . Can Hybrids Help? Government - Industry Partnerships When Patents and Contracts Don’t Work . . . . . . Can Hybrids Help?
The Goal: (v-c) Government - Industry Partnerships c (v – c) > 0 v Note: • (v,c) space c (v – c) > 0 v
Patents: (Π•v - c) > 0 Government - Industry Partnerships c
Subsidies: (Π•v + s - c) > 0 Government - Industry Partnerships c Note: • Assumes government can’t observe (v-c) (v – c) > 0 v
Subsidies: (Π•v + s - c) > 0 Government - Industry • The SST Notes • The SST Partnerships c Inefficiency Subsidy (v – c) > 0 v
Matching Payments Government - Industry Partnerships • Sematech c Notes • Sematech • Venture Star • The New SST c No Subsidy Requested Π Matching Payment v
Inventing Institutions IT and Public Policy – Oct. 7, 2004 IT Ecosystem Inventing Institutions Stephen M. Maurer Goldman School of Public Policy