The role of intellectual property rights in economic growth

Abstract

Intellectual property rights are an important element of the new theories of endogenous growth. Because of their special relationship to human capital, intellectual property protection may influence innovative activity and technological progress in critical ways, An important question for many countries is whether stricter enforcement of inteliectual property is a good stratesl for economic growth.This paper exariines the role of intellectual property rights in economic growtl\ utilizing cross-country data on patent protection, trade regime, and country-specific characteristics. The evidence suggests that intellectual property protection is positively related to economic growth. These effects appear to be slightly stronger in relatively open economies and are robust to both the measure of openness used and to other alternative model specifications. 'We thank

Harmonizing IPRs on Software Piracy: Empirics of Trajectories in Africa

“…Strong conclusions have been established that nations with higher income and greater individualism have lower piracy rates (Maskus & Penubarti, 1995;Gould & Gruben, 1996;Rushing & Thompson, 1996Husted, 2000;Marron & Steel, 2000;Kranenberg & Hogenbirk, 2003;Kim, 2004;Depken & Simmons, 2004). A vast empirical literature has also focused on the socio-economic determinants of piracy rates in several copyright industries (Andrés, 2006;Banerjee et al, 2005;Bezmen & Depken, 2006;Peitz & Waelbroeck, 2006;Goel & Nelson, 2009;Andrés & Goel, 2012 …”

“…The debate has centered around IPRs protection, with some scholars postulating that increased protection of IPRs stimulates economic growth and development through the appealing impact on factor productivity (Gould & Gruben, 1996;Falvey et al, 2006). On the other hand, skeptics are of the position that IPRs protection and adherence to international treaties (laws) may seriously limit the growth prospects of developing countries (Yang & Maskus, 2001).…”

Does the national innovation system spur economic growth in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa economies? Evidence from panel data

“…Most of these studies use R&D and patent as a measure of innovation in determining the influence of innovation on growth. Gould and Gruben (1996) investigated economic growth rates across many countries to a simple index of patent strength and other variables. They found a significant positive impact when patent was interacted with a measure of openness to trade.…”

Does Knowledge Protection Benefit Shareholders? Evidence from Stock Market Reaction and Firm Investment in Knowledge Assets

“…Prior research disagrees on the consequences of knowledge protection. Some studies show that the enforcement of knowledge protection leads to firm innovation (see, e.g., Taylor (1994), Zhao (2006), and Lerner (2009)) and contributes to economic growth (see, e.g., Gould and Gruben (1996), Park and Ginarte (1997), Falvey, Foster, and Greenaway (2006)). Other studies argue that knowledge spillover within industry clusters is necessary, as it benefits firms and contributes to regional economic growth (see, e.g., Romer (1986), Krugman (1991), and Samila and Sorenson (2011)).…”