Trade Policy Space, Patent Right Protection and Economic Complexity in Developing Countries

Abstract

This articles explores how trade policy space affects economic complexity in developing countries, and whether this effect depends on the strength of patent right protection. The analysis has used an unbalanced panel dataset of 60 countries (of which 26 poor countries) over the period from 1991 to 2020. It has established that trade policy space exerts a negative effect on economic complexity in poor countries but influences it positively in non-poor countries. alike. More generally, the positive economic complexity effect of trade policy space is larger in countries with higher development levels. This effect materializes through the level of countries’ integration into global trade. The higher the level of integration into global trade, the larger is the positive effect of trade policy space on economic complexity. Last but not least, trade policy space promotes economic complexity in countries that strengthen their patent right protection. JEL Classification: F13; F14; O14.