Cooperative and Non-Cooperative R&D Policy in an Economic Union

What are the consequences of decentralized R&;D policies within an economic union? Do non-cooperative policies generate too high R&;D subsidies? To address such questions, we construct a simple model where firms invest in quality-improving R&;D. With goods produced in different countries within an economic union, we compare non-cooperative and cooperative R&;D policies. We show that non-cooperative policies imply too small R&;D subsidies for horizontally differentiated goods and too high subsidies for close substitutes. Furthermore, small countries have less incentive to subsidize R&;D than large countries, resulting in an unwarranted vertical product differentiation between goods produced in different countries.