International patenting activity is a source of international technology diffusion. However, technology diffuses imperfectly and technology gaps exist between nations. Indeed patenting activity is largely concentrated in developed countries. A gap also exists in patent protection levels across...

Economics is a matter of choice and growth, of interaction and exchange among individuals. Because property rights define the rules of these interactions and the objects of exchange, it is vital to fully understand the institutions and implications of the various property-rights regimes. With...

Global intellectual property reform has been underway since the early 1990s (Box 1). With respect to international trade, a central pillar of the reform is the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) that came into effect...

Protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) serves a dual role in economic development. While it promotes innovation by providing legal protection of inventions, it may retard catch-up and learning by restricting the diffusion of innovations. Does stronger IPR protection in a developing...

This paper examines how the role of patents and utility models in innovation and economic growth varies by level of economic development. Using a panel dataset of over 70 countries, we find that patent protection is an important determinant of innovation and that patentable innovations...

Countries enact various mechanisms, such as patent protection, to encourage, protect, and reward firm innovation. The degree to which these mechanisms afford firms protection over their intellectual property influences the innovation strategy that firms pursue and innovation investments they...

Previous work has focused on how intellectual property rights affect inward technology transfer. This paper is among the first to study whether patent rights contribute to outward technology transfers. Patent protection can affect the ability of firms to be sources of technology through its...