We develop a Schumpeterian growth model to analyze the interaction between patent policy and firms’ internal strategies to capture value from innovations. We consider two dimensions of patent policy: backward protection against imitation and forward protection, also known as blocking patents,...

Patent protection was introduced for plant biotechnology in the United States in 1985, and it affected crops differentially depending on their reproductive structures. Exploiting this unique feature of plant physiology and a new dataset of crop-specific technology development, I find that the...

Innovations are a key driver of long-term economic growth. There has been an explosion of patent filings in China in the past three decades. But empirical studies on the pattern of innovations at the firm level are rather scant primarily due to lack of firm-specific patent data. We have made...

We develop a Schumpeterian growth model with private IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) enforcement and investigate the implications for IPR and R&D policies. In our setting, successful innovators undertake costly activities to enforce their patents and protect their monopoly rents. These Rent...

Patented innovation is a predominately local phenomena. It is also an indicator of economic growth. Using data on U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), we examine the long-run effect of economic freedom, and each of its three components, on local patent activity. We find that increased...

Within the context of an endogenous growth model with nonhomothetic preferences and income distribution, this paper analyzes whether there might be disagreement between rich and poor consumers about the optimal patent policy. In equilibrium, the poor and the rich differ with respect to the share...

Government intention to spur innovation can result in the proliferation of low-quality patents, which is especially pronounced in countries with a low level of government accountability. This study examines the paradoxical effects of government-funded innovation in weakly institutionalized...

We examine the diversification of administrative and procedural costs on patent stock using a large dataset from the European Patent Office with 15,000 firms for the period between 1995 and 2015. The results reveal that administrative and procedural costs are significant for firm-level patenting...

We evaluate the welfare effects of differential pricing, voluntary licensing, and compulsory licensing in the Indian market for oral anti-diabetic (OAD) drugs. This market includes a new class of molecules called DPP-4 inhibitors, all of which are under patent protection in India. The Indian...

The case against patents can be summarized briefly: there is no empirical evidence that they serve to increase innovation and productivity. There is strong evidence, instead, that patents have many negative consequences