Open source projects produce goods or standards that do not allow for the appropriation of private returns by those who contribute to their production. In this paper we analyze why programmers will nevertheless invest their time and effort to code open source software. We argue that the...

Commercial open source software (COSS) products --- privately developed software based on publicly available source code --- represent a rapidly growing, multi-billion-dollar market. A unique aspect of competition in the COSS market is that many open source licenses require firms to make certain...

We study an endogenous growth model where a profit-motivated R and D sector coexists with the introduction of free blueprints invented by philanthropists. These goods are priced at marginal cost, contrary to proprietary ones which are produced by a monopoly owned by the inventor. We show that...

This paper analyzes the structural dimension of social capital, and its impact on the success of open source software projects. By examining ties existing between open source projects through their core members altogether with other contributors, we identify the communication paths and flows of...

There is considerable debate regarding the use of intellectual property rights (IPR) to spur innovation in the software industry. In this paper we focus on the choice of intellectual property right regimes and industry growth. We begin by developing a growth optimal mixture of open source and...