蝌蚪网 Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
Learning When to Quit: An Empirical Model of Experimentation in Standards Development
蝌蚪网 Journal: Microeconomics
vol. 17,
no. 3, August 2025
(pp. 164–90)
Abstract
Using data from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a voluntary organization that develops protocols for managing internet infrastructure, we estimate a dynamic discrete choice model of the decision to continue or abandon a line of research. The model's key parameters measure the speed at which authors learn whether their project will become a technology standard. We use the model to simulate two innovation policies: an R&D subsidy and a publication prize. While subsidies have a larger impact on research output, the optimal policy depends on the level of R&D spillovers.Citation
Ganglmair, Bernhard, Timothy Simcoe, and Emanuele Tarantino. 2025. "Learning When to Quit: An Empirical Model of Experimentation in Standards Development." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Microeconomics 17 (3): 164–90. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20190321Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- L86 Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
- O38 Technological Change: Government Policy