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What are the effects of strengthening developing countries' protection for intellectual property rights on economic growth, social welfare and income inequality in the global economy? To analyze this question, we develop a two-country R&D-based growth model with wealth heterogeneity. We find that the North experiences higher growth and welfare at the expense of higher income inequality while the South experiences higher growth at the expense of lower welfare and higher income inequality. As for global welfare, there exists a critical degree of crosscountry spillovers below (above) which global welfare decreases (increases). In light of these findings, we discuss policy implications on China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.

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This paper advances our understanding of consumption behavior using the 2009 Taiwan Shopping Voucher Program. This program was universal and well publicized, and its payment to each individual was medium-sized. Based on survey data, it is found that the marginal propensity to consume is about one quarter, which is comparable to findings obtained by previous studies on consumers' response to fiscal stimulus payments. Further, vendors' discounts for voucher users played a significant role in boosting the effectiveness of the program. (JEL D12, E21, E62)