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SUMMARY:Innovation and competition: the breakup of IG Farben - Felix Poege
 \, Postdoctoral Associate\, Technology and Policy Research Initiative\, Bo
 ston University
DTSTART:20221012T140000Z
DTEND:20221012T150000Z
UID:TALK185123@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Emily Brown
DESCRIPTION:The relationship between competition and innovation is difficu
 lt to disentangle\, as exogenous variation in market structure is rare. Th
 e 1952 breakup of Germany’s leading chemical company\, IG Farben\, repre
 sents such a disruption. After the Second World War\, the Allies occupying
  Germany imposed the breakup because of IG Farben’s importance for the G
 erman war economy instead of standard antitrust concerns. In technology ar
 eas where the breakup reduced concentration\, patenting increased strongly
 \, driven by domestic firms unrelated to IG Farben. An analysis of patent 
 texts shows that an increased propensity to patent does not drive the effe
 ct. Descriptively\, IG Farben’s successors increased their patenting act
 ivities as well\, and their patenting specialised relative to the pre-brea
 kup period. The results are consistent with a breakup-induced innovation i
 ncrease by the IG Farben successors\, which then spilled over to the wider
  chemical industry.
LOCATION:Zoom
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