nep-ipr New Economics Papers
on Intellectual Property Rights
Issue of 2021‒12‒20
three papers chosen by
Giovanni Ramello
Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”

  1. Macroeconomic Effects of Intellectual Property Rights: An Updated Survey By Chu, Angus
  2. Appropriating the returns of patent statistics: Take-up and development in the wake of Zvi Griliches By Sandro Mendonca; Hugo Confraria; Manuel Mira Godinho
  3. The Dynamics of French Universities in Patent Collaboration Networks By Isabel Cavalli; Charlie Joyez

  1. By: Chu, Angus
    Abstract: This paper provides a survey of studies that analyze the macroeconomic effects of intellectual property rights (IPR). The first part of this paper introduces different patent-policy instruments and reviews their effects on R&D and economic growth. This part also discusses the distortionary effects and distributional consequences of IPR protection as well as empirical evidence on the effects of patent rights. Then, the second part considers the international aspects of IPR protection. In summary, this survey draws the following conclusions from the literature. First, different patent-policy instruments have different effects on R&D and economic growth. Second, there is some empirical evidence supporting a positive relationship between IPR protection and innovation, but the evidence is stronger for developed countries than for developing countries. Third, the optimal level of IPR protection should tradeoff the social benefit of innovation against the social costs of multiple distortions and income inequality. Finally, in an open economy, achieving the globally optimal level of protection requires an international coordination (rather than the harmonization) of IPR protection.
    Keywords: economic growth; innovation; intellectual property rights
    JEL: O31 O34 O4
    Date: 2021–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:110839&r=
  2. By: Sandro Mendonca; Hugo Confraria (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex); Manuel Mira Godinho
    Abstract: Three decades after the publication of Zvi Griliches’ (1990) influential survey on “Patent statistics as economic indicators†, the uses and limitations of patent statistics remain a core issue in the field of innovation studies. This paper follows through Griliches’ seminal work to understand how the literature using patents as an empirical resource developed over time. How has this indicator been adopted and how has it been adapted to different research challenges? We address this question by examining the citation tree of nearly 2000 articles published in almost 400 journals found to refer to Griliches’ seminal contribution between 1990 and 2019. We combine bibliometric techniques and qualitative analysis to provide a close-up moving picture of patents as a data resource: growth and variety of usage, impact on disciplines and journals, driving institutions and geographies, major topics and research issues. We find that five main themes emerge: 1) Economic growth; 2) Geography of innovation; 3) Innovation management/performance; 4) Pat-methods; and 5) Green innovation. Shouldered by these findings, we discuss potential pathways for future patent-based research.
    Keywords: patents, innovation indicators, bibliometrics, survey, Zvi Griliches
    Date: 2021–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2021-07&r=
  3. By: Isabel Cavalli (Université Côte d'Azur, France; CNRS, GREDEG; Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy); Charlie Joyez (Université Côte d'Azur, France; CNRS, GREDEG)
    Abstract: Innovation is a dynamic process whose complexity lies in networks among heterogeneous actors, with collaboration often ending in patent co-ownership. Governments introduced many policies to redefine the role of universities in research collaboration once acknowledging their value in scientific knowledge. This paper explores how patent co-ownership evolved in France after decisive policy interventions (1999, 2006, 2007). Using French copatent data (1978-2018), we first employ Network Analysis to capture the evolution of centrality of French Universities. We then apply a Dif-in-Dif, incorporating a Propensity Score Matching (PSM), to investigate the potential causal relationship between policy interventions and the evolution of universities' centrality, contrasting with with French Public Research Organizations as well as German and Italian universities. Our results point to the increasing centrality gained by French universities in patenting co-ownership over the years and its essential role, as an innovator actor, in the French innovation system. Although the Innovation Act (1999) positively impacted their centrality, the impact of 2006-on legislation is either null or even negative, offsetting the initial trend.
    Keywords: Innovation dynamics, Universities, Collaborative Patents, Network centrality, treatment effect
    JEL: C54 D85 O32 O33 O34 O38
    Date: 2021–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2021-38&r=

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