wow!
an actual experimental verification of the hypothesis. Excellent work
Curt!
Note also some research in the late 80s and early 90s by RAND Corp into the effect of the FDA regs on innovation in the pharmaceutical industries.
Effectively large industry is opposed to a decrease in patent and regulatory strings and hoops for the same reason that drug cartels are not in favor of legalizing their trade.
>Twice in the 19th century (Netherlands 1830s to 1850s and Switzerland 1870s
>to 1890s) patent laws were repealed mostly for ideological reasons (ideas
>should be free, etc.) In neither case did technological innovation decrease.
>In Switzerland this coincided with a spectacular increase in chemical
>industry
>innovation which resulted in the Swiss chemical and pharmeceutical
>industries.
>Once they got large, of course, the new companies lobbied patent laws back
>in, ostensibly to protect research (in spite of their own impressive
>achievements without patents) but more plausibly to protect themselves from
>competition.