Short-Term America Revisited? Boom and Bust in the Venture Capital Industry and the Impact on Innovation

Josh   Lerner; Paul A. Gompers

Chapter | Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 3 | 2003

Short-Term America Revisited? Boom and Bust in the Venture Capital Industry and the Impact on Innovation

Abstract

This chapter seeks to understand the implications of the recent decline in venture activity for innovation. It argues that the situation may not be as grim as it initially appears. While there are many reasons for believing that on average venture capital has a powerful effect on innovation, the effect is far from uniform. During boom periods, the prevalence of over funding of particular sectors can lead to a sharp decline in the effectiveness of venture funds. While prolonged downturns may eventually lead to good companies going unfounded, many of the dire predictions today seem overstated.

Keywords: Venture Capital; Innovation and Invention; Business Cycles; Financial Services Industry; United States;

Format: Print

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Citation:

Lerner, Josh, and Paul A. Gompers. "Short-Term America Revisited? Boom and Bust in the Venture Capital Industry and the Impact on Innovation." In Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 3, edited by Adam B. Jaffe, Josh Lerner, and Scott Stern, 1–28. MIT Press, 2003.

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Venture capital is associated with some of the most high-growth and influential firms in the world. Academics and practitioners have effectively articulated the strengths of the venture model. At the same time, venture capital financing also has real limitations in its ability to advance substantial technological change. Three issues are particularly concerning to us: 1) the very narrow band of technological innovations that fit the requirements of institutional venture capital investors; 2) the relatively small number of venture capital investors who hold, and shape the direction of, a substantial fraction of capital that is deployed into financing radical technological change; and 3) the relaxation in recent years of the intense emphasis on corporate governance by venture capital firms. While our ability to assess the social welfare impact of venture capital remains nascent, we hope that this article will stimulate discussion of and research into these questions.

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Short-Term America Revisited? Boom and Bust in the Venture Capital Industry and the Impact on Innovation

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