Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Leapfrogging Competition: How Mergers Drive Drastic Innovations’ on 30 January
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Saish Nevrekar, Ashoka University
27 January, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Leapfrogging Competition: How Mergers Drive Drastic Innovations’, to be led by Prof. Saish Nevrekar, Ashoka University (Economics area), at 2.30 pm on 30 January 2025, at Classroom-P12.
Abstract: The research paper studies the impact of the unilateral effect of mergers in the absence of synergies on the firms' incentives to invest in drastic, relative to incremental innovations. The researchers challenge the prevailing belief that mergers predominantly diminish investments in drastic innovations. The analysis reveals that the effects of mergers on innovation vary significantly across sectors, which are differentiated by their R&D intensity. In industries with low R&D intensity, mergers often promote investments in drastic innovations. Conversely, in high R&D intensity sectors, mergers tend to consolidate investments toward safer incremental innovations, potentially stifling more drastic advances. Applying the consumer welfare standard, the researchers study the conditions when mergers enhance social welfare.
Speaker Profile: Prof. Saish Nevrekar holds a joint PhD in Economics from VU Amsterdam and IGIDR. After the completion of his PhD programme, he worked as a Visiting Professor at the University Carlos III of Madrid. In 2021, he won a two-year postdoctoral grant awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for conducting research at the University of Zurich. His principal research interest is the field of industrial organization and competition policy; specifically, the study of the design of competition policy to protect and boost innovation activities. Parallelly, he also works on the study of contest theory and the theory of non-cooperative games of coalition formation.
Webpage Link: https://www.ashoka.edu.in/profile/saish-nevrekar/
Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Leapfrogging Competition: How Mergers Drive Drastic Innovations’ on 30 January
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Saish Nevrekar, Ashoka University
27 January, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Leapfrogging Competition: How Mergers Drive Drastic Innovations’, to be led by Prof. Saish Nevrekar, Ashoka University (Economics area), at 2.30 pm on 30 January 2025, at Classroom-P12.
Abstract: The research paper studies the impact of the unilateral effect of mergers in the absence of synergies on the firms' incentives to invest in drastic, relative to incremental innovations. The researchers challenge the prevailing belief that mergers predominantly diminish investments in drastic innovations. The analysis reveals that the effects of mergers on innovation vary significantly across sectors, which are differentiated by their R&D intensity. In industries with low R&D intensity, mergers often promote investments in drastic innovations. Conversely, in high R&D intensity sectors, mergers tend to consolidate investments toward safer incremental innovations, potentially stifling more drastic advances. Applying the consumer welfare standard, the researchers study the conditions when mergers enhance social welfare.
Speaker Profile: Prof. Saish Nevrekar holds a joint PhD in Economics from VU Amsterdam and IGIDR. After the completion of his PhD programme, he worked as a Visiting Professor at the University Carlos III of Madrid. In 2021, he won a two-year postdoctoral grant awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for conducting research at the University of Zurich. His principal research interest is the field of industrial organization and competition policy; specifically, the study of the design of competition policy to protect and boost innovation activities. Parallelly, he also works on the study of contest theory and the theory of non-cooperative games of coalition formation.
Webpage Link: https://www.ashoka.edu.in/profile/saish-nevrekar/